Quotes from What’s stopping drivers from adopting electric cars? A report from Confused.com
When asked what type of car they intended to buy next, nearly half (44%) expected it to be petrol, 27% hybrid, 17% electric and just 11% diesel.
The survey of 2,000 drivers discovered that the price, a lack of charging points, low mileage range, and a lack of incentives to switch were the main deterrents.
Price
Electric vehicles have become cheaper but are still relatively expensive.
“A petrol Volkswagen Up costs about £12,000 while the e-Up electric version costs more than £20,000″
But see the Dacia Spring
Low range
“If you only ever drive in town, electric vehicles make sense as they’re more efficient in stop-start traffic than a petrol or diesel car.” “160 mile range would be sufficient”
However if you can charge overnight, unlike a petrol or diesel car, you can have the full range available.
Most electric cars offer 200 – 250 miles when fully charged and the Kia e-Niro offers 282 miles range.
Consider just how much range you really need. If you stop en-route for a coffee or otherwise you should be able to top-up on your trip.
Lack of charging points
The survey reports that 57% of respondents were concerned about the lack of charging points.
In November 2019, the Department for Transport published a league table of electric car charging availability in local authorities.
This showed there were more charging locations than petrol stations. But it also revealed more than 100 local authorities with fewer than 10 public charging devices per 100,000 population.
However the number of chargers is increasing rapidly so, although it varies across the country, the figures quoted by Confused.com are out of date.
The lack of charging points nearby can be a problem if you are unable to Charge at home.
Google maps can be used to identify the locations of changing points.
