A new survey conducted by a leading insurance company has cast doubt on the level of interest UK car buyers have in switching to electric cars.
Despite a leap in the number of electric cars on UK roads from 3,500 to over 40,000 in the past two years, a poll commissioned by insurance broker Adrian Flux found just three per cent of motorists say they would be interested in buying one in the next five years.
Government grants of up to £5,000 towards the purchase of an electric car have helped boost the numbers of electric cars on UK roads in recent years, as have road-tax and London congestion charge exemptions, so the findings of the Adrian Flux survey may come as a blow to proponents of electric power. Manufacturers have invested heavily in advancing electric vehicles, with the Nissan Leaf, BMW i3 and i8, VW e-Golf, and Tesla Model S emerging as popular models while Ford has announced for 13 electric cars to enter the market by the end of the decade.
However, of 1,784 motorists surveyed by specialist insurance broker Adrian Flux, almost three quarters said they had no intention of switching to electric power. Just three per cent said they were planning to switch to an electric car over the next five years, with the remainder undecided. This shows very little change from a similar survey conducted by Flux four years ago, when just two per cent of motorists were looking to swap the pump for the plug.
Over a third of respondents to the survey said they simply preferred traditional petrol and diesel power too much to consider switching, showing there is still considerable work to be done by the industry to persuade customers that electric power is a viable option. Despite the Government grant, almost a quarter were put off by the cost of new electric vehicles, with a further seven per cent concerned about the cost of battery replacement. A fear of running out of charge mid journey was the stated stumbling block for 19 per cent of those surveyed.
The electric vehicle sector has undergone rapid advancements in recent years, but that in itself drew an interesting response from one respondent who said that “the pace of development is such that within a few years, any electric car bought today would be completely worthless.”
Other replies to the survey revealed that motorists remain to be convinced about the claimed environmental benefits of a switch to electric power. “I’m concerned about the long term environmental effects of spent batteries,” said one respondent, while another said, “I would be most interested if the electricity was produced from renewable sources, fossil-fuel-produced power is no better than using petrol.”
Gerry Bucke, general manager at Adrian Flux, “Many of the people who took our survey said that they felt electric cars, or at least hybrids, would one day be commonplace on our roads, but most thought that there were still many hurdles for manufacturers to jump before that happened. Despite an increased number of charging points in the UK, many motorists still suffer from range anxiety, which is something which won’t disappear until chargers are as widespread as petrol stations, charging is as quick as filling up, and electric cars can offer similar ranges to current vehicles. Despite the government grant, new electric cars still tend to cost more than their petrol or diesel-powered cousins, which remains an issue for many, as do the supposed environmental benefits. People remain unconvinced about the practicality of the technology as it stands, as well as whether the cars are as green as manufacturers claim.”
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