A survey of 2,000 UK motorists has revealed that the majority consider electric car ownership to be unfeasible on a practical and financial level.
Almost half (47%) of those who took part in the questionnaire said they simply could not make the sums add up when it comes to making the case for buying a zero-emission car.
79% of those surveyed also felt the government’s current Plug-In Car Grant – which was reduced late last year from £2,500 to £1,500 – is not enough to convince them to make the switch. The cap on cost has also been lowered to £32,000 – £3,000 less than previously.
Commissioned by InsuretheGap, 75% of people who agreed to participate in the exercise said they don’t trust the British government to not make electric motoring more expensive in the future because of the money the Chancellor of the Exchequer will lose on fuel duty.
For that reason, a fifth of respondents said they would be happy to stick with diesel- and petrol-powered cars despite a ban on the sale of both coming into effect at the end of the decade.
Charging also remains a sticking point for many drivers, with 40% saying the UK is a postcode lottery when it comes to charging points, while 36% feel there should be electric charging points at workplaces and four in ten indicated they would not be prepared to wait around in public places, like motorway service stations, to recharge their vehicle.
InsureTheGap’s Ben Wooltorton said: “We still have a mountain to climb in the UK to encourage large-scale adoption of electric vehicles. People seem put off by the cost, and sceptical about their financial advantage in the long term.
“We also know that the government will need to recoup the loss of income when the current system of charging heavily polluting vehicles declines, but we don’t know yet how they plan to do this.
“It’s no surprise to hear, therefore, that electric car owners might fear that their card’s marked for additional expense in the future,” he added.
