What Car? has published the results of its latest research, based on feedback from 1,483 in-market buyers, showing that 38% of buyers who are not in the market for an EV see ‘vehicle cost’ as the biggest hurdle.
The research asked buyers who are not in the market for an electric vehicle what the biggest hurdles are to them making the switch. The largest percentage (38%) cited vehicle cost, a quarter said that vehicle range was the biggest problem, while the lack of an adequate public charging infrastructure was highlighted by 19%, and 10% said they had nowhere to charge a vehicle at home.
Just 9% of all buyers surveyed believe that the UK’s public charging network is currently good enough for them to make the switch to an electric vehicle. Likewise, just 14% of fully electric car buyers told What Car? that the public network alone could support them in making the switch; the remainder will instead rely on home charging. In fact, although there currently are more than 24,000 public charging devices available to electric car drivers, 47% of electric vehicle buyers do not know where their nearest public charging station is, showing heavy reliance on home charging.
What Car? also looked at when those currently in the market for a new petrol or diesel car think they’ll buy an electric vehicle. Responses showed that 40% wanted to stick with petrol and diesel cars for as long as they can, while 18% think they’ll make the switch to electric by 2025, and 23% after 2030 when new diesel and petrol cars can no longer be sold.
