Petrol drivers’ EV ignorance holding them back, finds study
New research suggests many UK drivers are still allowing myths and misinformation to cloud their view of electric cars.
A study presented 1,000 petrol car drivers with true-or-false statements about EVs and found that a staggering 57% could only correctly identify 2 out of 10. A mere 10% of drivers managed to get more than half correct.
The pro-EV think tank, the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), which commissioned the YouGov poll, believes that such a lack of knowledge is holding some drivers back from switching to an EV.
The study showed that drivers who scored two or less out of 10 were 11 times less likely to want their next car to be an EV than those who scored eight or more out of 10.
Earlier this year, a House of Lords committee published a report, in which it raised concerns around a “concerted campaign of misinformation” about EVs. The ECIU’s head of transport, Colin Walker, said the polling results showed such misinformation was affecting the public’s views of EVs and their choice of vehicles.
He said: “Poll after poll has found EV drivers love their cars and simply wouldn’t go back to petrol. But all the myths being pedalled about EVs are misleading some petrol car drivers who now have a really poor knowledge of electric cars. The constant stream of EV misinformation is clearly causing confusion, and holding many of the UK’s drivers back from making the switch to cleaner and cheaper electric driving.
“The Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate is increasing competition between manufacturers, bringing down upfront costs and will start to feed the second-hand market where most of us buy our cars. Second-hand EVs are already at price parity with petrol cars, but are so much cheaper to run, so the policy is set to bring down the costs of motoring for ordinary families.”
The poll found that nearly two-thirds (62%) of petrol drivers wrongly believe it is more expensive to own and run an EV, despite charging costs, insurance and servicing all being cheaper than for a petrol vehicle.
It also revealed that 41% of petrol drivers incorrectly think that EVs are more likely to catch fire than petrol cars, despite data suggesting that EV fires are 80 times less likely than ICE vehicle fires.
Quentin Willson, founder of FairCharge, added: “The high level of ignorance about EVs has been created by a circular loop of repeated misinformation across social media and newspapers, posted and written for largely ideological reasons.
“Too many consumers have been duped into believing re-heated, ill-informed myths and misinformation that’s often years old.”
James Court, CEO of EVA England, said the high levels of misinformation were frustraing and were holding people back from switching to EVs.
He added: “We want to see industry and government think seriously about what they can do to tackle this misinformation. Because we know that, once people have access to accurate information, many will chose to make the move to electric driving and won’t look back.”
