New group will promote EVs and tackle misinformation

Octopus Electric Vehicles and the Fully Charged Show have announced a partnership which will see the creation of  ‘Electric Vehicles UK’, a new organisation which intends to educate consumers about EVs.

Octopus Energy’s founder Greg Jackson, launched the group at his company’s London HQ yesterday in front of a crowd over 120  industry professionals.

It was announced that Fully Charged’s Dan Caesar will take on the role of  Interim CEO of Electric Vehicles UK, with the plan being that a full time CEO is appointed in a year’s time.

Regards misinformation and skewed reporting, Dan said: ‘Electric vehicles have become something of a lightning rod for headline writers, guaranteeing as they do, a significant number of hits. Through multiple surveys on the subject, we know that 9 out of 10 battery EV drivers won’t go back to combustion engine vehicles.

‘Meanwhile, almost 50% of ICE drivers are considering switching to electric, so there’s a clear disconnect between the headlines and lived experience. By uniting under the ‘Electric Vehicles UK’ brand we believe we can be much more effective in communicating information and factual evidence of the good, and the bad, aspects of EV ownership.’

Dan has long battled what he has seen as dis- and misinformation. Such as in this piece, written earlier this year.

Robert Llewellyn, the Founder and Joint CEO of Fully Charged railed against the strength of the fossil fuel lobby when he spoke at our SW & Wales Conference last year. ‘For every one pound I spend promoting clean air, they can literally spend a billion countering it,’ he thundered.

The are a number of reasons why sales of EVs have plateaued recently but chief among them appear to be confused messages from the previous government, online misinformation and antagonism towards them in certain sections of the press.

However, in new research from Octopus, 96% of EV owners said their next car would also be electric, while almost half of non-EV drivers would like to switch.

Fiona Howarth, CEO of Octopus Electric Vehicles: ‘As the UK’s largest electric-only leasing company, we see first hand how much drivers love these cars. They’re cheaper to run, packed with the latest tech and great fun to drive. But we know that misinformation, or a lack of clarity at least, is holding some potential buyers back. We are proud to be the lead partner for ‘Electric Vehicles UK’, and to enable the industry to better communicate the benefits of electric car ownership.’