7:15 am, November 1, 2022
Increasing energy prices have put more than 70 per cent of drivers off from owning an electric vehicle.
That’s according to a new survey by the AA, whose poll of more than 12,500 motorists found that rising energy bills were the main reason for 10 per cent of them not switching to an EV.
Another 63 per cent said the cost of electricity had made them more reluctant to buy an EV.
However, almost a quarter (24 per cent) were taking a long-term view, saying they hadn’t been put off from going electric.
Some three per cent already had an EV.
Energy bills rocketed by 54 per cent for the average household on a standard variable tariff at the beginning of April when the price cap on bills was increased.
AA president Edmund King said he believed that the cost-of-living crisis meant many drivers were holding on to existing vehicles longer than normal but they’d consider EVs once energy markets settled down.
In a speech at the Highways UK conference in Birmingham tomorrow (Nov 2), he is expected to say: ‘Today, there are almost half a million full EVs on the roads in the UK, with more models coming to market each month.
‘However, the cost of living and higher electricity costs are deterring almost three-quarters of drivers from making the switch now.
‘For some drivers, it is a big psychological and practical leap from tried-and-trusted petrol or diesel cars to full electric models.
‘However, after making that leap, drivers will not go back, and the switch ultimately will lead to lower running costs and less damage to the environment.’
Sales of new petrol and diesel cars and vans in the UK will be banned from 2030.
But latest figures from the SMMT show that the rapid increase in sales of new pure-electric cars has slowed in recent months.
The number of registrations during the first three months of the year was 102 per cent more than during the same period in 2021. However, at the end of September, the year-to-date increase had dropped to 40.3 per cent.
