Around two-thirds of non-EV drivers say they will still not be switching to an electric car any time soon. A recent survey conducted by Refused Car Finance shows a number of customers said they would not consider buying an electric car as their next vehicle.
Consumers who did not already own an EV were asked whether they would consider an electric car in the future and a vast majority of these surveyed individuals said they would not. Electric cars are heavily promoted to be better for the environment, cheaper to run and improve fuel efficiency but the survey suggests these incentives are not enough for UK drivers to make the switch. The main concerns for this group of drivers were the cost of buying an EV, the mileage capacity of EVs and the availability of charging points in the UK.
When buying a brand-new EV, the cost to buy can be higher than other models as they use newer, more expensive technology and also are produced in smaller numbers. Consumers do however have the ability to spread the cost of an EV with finance (if they are eligible) or there are many second-hand EVs on the market to take advantage of too.
61% of drivers surveyed were concerned about the electric range of EVs and whether they would spend more time recharging their vehicle than driving it. When asked what they thought the average mileage capacity would be for an electric car in 2024, 40% said between 181 and 240 miles, which happens to be pretty accurate. In 2024, the average mileage of an EV is around 211 miles but can be make/model dependent.
Drivers were also worried about the lack of electric car charging points across the UK and not being able to reach a charger before their mileage ran out. Currently, there are over 53,000 charging points available in the UK, but many drivers are still not convinced it is enough. To help encourage more drivers to adopt an EV and reach their 2025 Net Zero target, the UK government aims to have 300,000 charging points in place by 2030.
Out of the customers surveyed who already owned an EV, 66.7% of those said they were happy with their electric car purchase and petrol and diesel options making no sense to them anymore. In their opinion, the biggest selling point of their EV are low running costs, zero emissions and a better driving experience.
The purpose of this survey conducted by the bad credit car finance broker, Refused Car Finance, was to get an idea of how drivers currently feel about buying and owning electric cars. The 2035 petrol and diesel car ban is still a while off, but it’s inevitable drivers will have to invest in an electric car at some point in the future. But is it best to buy now and get ahead of the game? This research suggests some UK drivers are still not yet ready to adopt a zero-emission vehicle.