New survey shows guarded enthusiasm towards EV adoption

A new survey by YouGov, which was commissioned by EV charging company CTEK, has uncovered a growing appreciation of battery electric vehicles but at the same time thrown light on the fears that many potential converts still hold.

The survey spoke to drivers of both ICE and BEV vehicles in the UK, France, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden on their attitudes to and experience of Electric Vehicles.

Of the five countries, the UK ranks the lowest in terms of EV ownership (5%) with Norway on 30%.

Perhaps one of the more surprising findings is that charger/range anxiety is on the rise, despite successive generations of EVs offering more miles for your charge and a roll-out of charging infrastructure that could be called enthusiastic compared to years past. One of the explanations for this is the fear of having to queue at charge points coupled with the fact that the charge point might be broken.

Amongst the UK drivers spoken to, 24% say their next vehicle will be a BEV or PHEV, with the hybrid alternative slightly more popular. In terms of buying a new car, twice as many people plan to buy an EV as an ICE vehicle.

50% of current ICE owners plan to stick with petrol or diesel and 25% are looking to buy an EV. The over 55s are less likely to choose an EV than other age groups, and women (20%) are less likely to do so than men (28%).

A third of people still believe ICE vehicles are cheaper to run than EVs and a quarter of those questioned say that the upfront cost of buying an EV is what’s putting them off.

10% were put off buying an EV by their perceived limited range and 5% because they would not be able to charge their car at home. 

43% of non-EV owners would like greater availability of public charging in their neighbourhood and for 48% of non-EV drivers who work, the ability to charge at work was a strong incentive (48%).

Half of UK EV drivers say they encounter broken public chargers at least 25% of the time and another 25% of the time, they have to queue.

The survey found UK EV drivers want simpler ways to pay for public charging, unsurprising given that almost one in four (23%) have five or more EV charging apps on their phone.

Cecilia Routledge, CTEK’s Global Director Energy and Facilities, said: ‘Our annual YouGov survey shows a strong demand from both existing EV owners and ICE drivers to buy electric as their next vehicle – both new and used.

‘The UK charging sector and national and local government need to work harder on expanding and maintaining the charging infrastructure to reduce the frequency of broken chargers and queueing.

‘If EV ownership expands in line with our survey results there must be many more additional opportunities to charge at destinations, workplaces, car parks and on highways. And they must work and the charging be easier to pay for.

‘What should excite everyone in the charging sector, in the UK Government, in energy generation and at transmission authorities is how open UK people are to the idea of Vehicle to Grid (V2G) flows of power to reduce peak demand and help us on the road to net zero.’