Research has found most UK motorists still have concerns about making the switch to electric cars.
A survey of more than 2,000 drivers discovered more than half (56 percent) think electric vehicles cost too much.
This concern contributed to a fifth (20 percent) of respondents saying that buying an EV is currently too daunting.
A waiting game
Only eight percent of respondents to the survey by InsuretheGap intend their next car to be electric. Men (10 percent) are slightly more likely than women (six percent) to make the move to an EV.
Some 37 percent said they plan to wait several years before considering an electric car.
More than half (54 percent) believe electric vehicle charging points are too scarce at present. And 40 percent have no way of charging an electric car at home.
Concerns about having to wait around at charging stations were an issue for 41 percent of respondents, too.
Barriers to entry
The responses to the survey demonstrate the key challenges to encouraging greater EV ownership.
Just over a fifth (22 percent) were aware of the potentially cheaper running costs for an electric car. But almost half of those asked (44 percent) think EVs do not travel far enough on a single charge.
The same number (44 percent) believe the government needs to improve the UK’s charging infrastructure before they will consider an EV.
Ben Wooltorton, chief operating officer at InsuretheGap, said: “We’re being encouraged to embrace the idea that electric cars are the future, but when only one in five drivers are aware that the running costs of an electric car can be significantly lower than a diesel or petrol car for typical driving patterns, and more than half think charging points are too scarce, it’s clear that there are still a lot of barriers to overcome.”
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