We’re delighted to publish our first findings from our ‘UK Car Survey’.
After receiving over 650 surveys up to and including Monday 7th August, we thought it pertinent to showcase the first set of key findings.
Following a lot of unsubstantiated and clearly biased news articles over the last 6-12 months, Electric Road wanted to get a real snapshot of current opinions on the electric car & wider UK EV market from both existing & non-EV owners.
We will publish the ongoing findings on a regular basis and assess how the responses are changing over time. We have decided to split publishing the initial findings into those from existing EV owners and those from non-EV owners. So firstly, we are going to assess ‘the temperature in the room’ from current EV owners. These first set of findings are based on 552 surveys.
The total number of responses will be different for two questions where we allowed multiple answers. These questions will be indicated below with (unsurprisingly) ‘multiple answers’.
Motivation to purchase (multiple answers)
Satisfaction levels
Driving range
Charging infrastructure
Feedback on the availability & reliability of the public charging infrastructure is more of a mixed bag, unsurprisingly. 51% of responses were for ‘Very satisfied’ and ‘Somewhat satisfied’ so the current results are still overall, slightly more positive than negative. However, we all know that the charging infrastructure could be better for both availability & reliability.
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Public charging – frequency of use
With the results we have received so far, there is a minority who are using public chargers on a reasonably regular basis. Only 18% in total use public chargers ‘Very frequently’ or ‘Somewhat frequently’. The probable conclusion to draw from this is that many of our respondents charge at home via a granny charger or a home charging unit and/or are able to charge at work.
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Cost savings
Given it is the primary motivation for getting an electric car, it’s good to see that 89% of responses are ‘Very satisfied’ or ‘Somewhat satisfied’ with the savings they are seeing. With the higher costs of public charging and the price of new EVs, it’s no surprise that some aren’t as satisfied as others.
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Concerns or problems (multiple answers)
Likelihood of recommending an EV
It is great to see that 79% of respondents so far would ‘Very likely’ recommend an EV to others. Like ICE cars, EVs aren’t perfect and things will go wrong but the overall experience for the majority is a wholly positive one.
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What ‘fuel’ type will your next car be?
Given all the noted challenges and concerns for existing EV owners, a whopping 93% will be buying electric next time round!
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