A QUARTER of Brits currently driving fossil fuel cars say their next car will be electric, as rising fuel costs, improving infrastructure and diminishing concerns about range anxiety push drivers towards EVs.
Currently just 6.1% of the UK’s 42.5 million licensed drivers own an EV. New research, carried out by EV charging infrastructure network Be.EV, finds this figure could rise by nearly 10 million amid the ongoing fuel cost crisis.
Two thirds (66%) of petrol/diesel drivers said their fuel costs have gone up ‘significantly’ this year and 16% are considering buying an EV as a result. A further 24% told the nationally representative survey their next car will ‘definitely’ be an EV.
The research polled equal numbers of EV and non-EV drivers to identify where perception and reality are at odds between those with experience of EV ownership and those without.
There remains a gulf. It found that on average, EV drivers are three times more positive than non-EV drivers across a series of metrics regarding common concerns about EVs, such as access to public charging, hard costs and charging times.
These perceptions among non-EV drivers exist despite great strides making the differences between the two forms of transport often negligible. Britain has one public EV charger for every 2.1 miles of road. Autotrader data shows the average new EV costs around £42,620 with a comparable petrol model averaging £43,405. EV insurance is on average just £40.50 more expensive than a fossil fuel car.
Summer of LoEV: Electric staycations
Some of the most stark findings regard ‘range anxiety’ – the idea that battery powered cars cannot travel very far on a full charge.
Only 12% of non-EV drivers think electric vehicles are capable of going on long journeys, compared to 40% of those who actually own one.
The average non-EV driver estimates an EV can travel 200 miles on a full charge, which is at the lower range of smaller, older, city-focused EVs. Many of the most popular new models can comfortably cover 400 miles on a single charge.
This point is cemented by the number of EV drivers who will be taking their cars on long road trips this summer.
Three in 10 (34%) Brits polled (33% non-EV; 36% EV) will be taking a staycation in the UK for their summer holidays this year. Here again, non-EV drivers are at odds with the reality EV drivers experience.
Only 17% of non-EV drivers believe the UK's public charging network is widespread enough to accommodate a long road trip and just 12% would feel confident taking an EV on a long
road trip, compared to 37% and 39% respectively for EV drivers. Over a third (35%) of EV drivers plan to take their car on a long, cross-country road trip this year.
Over a quarter of non-EV drivers (27%) feel electric vehicles are being forced upon people while 11% believe concerns about man-made climate change are overblown.
Only 12% of non-EV drivers like the aesthetics of electric vehicles – compared to 44% of EV owners. In a small victory for closing the perception gap, just 5% would be concerned about their friends judging them for owning one.
Asif Ghafoor, CEO of Be.EV, said:
“Drivers will ultimately vote with their wallets when it comes to EVs. When they see their neighbour running a car for next to nothing while they queue for fuel creeping towards £2 a litre, it’s a significant incentive.
“But if a quarter more Brits make the jump, that is because they can. Infrastructure here is among the best in the world – fourth in Europe for the total number of public charge points, third for installed ultra-fast chargers.
“Hard costs are coming down, public charging is cheaper than petrol. Battery technology is improving at pace, and range anxiety is becoming an irrelevance. That millions of people will drive their EVs all over the UK on their staycations this year is testament to that.
“Above all, the experience as a driver of actually owning and running an EV is on par, if not better, than a fossil fuel equivalent. The sticking points people had, especially around charging, are today forgettable nothings in millions of people’s lives.
“That said, clearly perception challenges remain. Some of the more negative views of EVs from 10 years ago have stuck in the psyche of UK drivers. Clearly, despite great strides, winning over the more skeptical among us. People don’t always welcome change and that is fine – these things take time, and we’re on the right track”.
