Younger people are far more likely to want to buy an electric car but are being put off by “barriers” to running them, new research by the AA has suggested.
Half of drivers aged 25-34 said they’d like to own an electric car, compared to 40% aged 18-24 and 40% aged 35-44, the AA said.
The proportion reduced to a third of people aged 45-54 and just a quarter of people aged over 65, indicating younger drivers are far more likely to adopt electric cars. Overall, 35% of all respondents said they expected to own an electric car within 10 years.
“The younger generation in particular are ready to embrace the electric revolution,” Edmund King, AA president said.
However, the AA said the “vast majority” of people surveyed think there aren’t enough public charging points, and three quarters worry an electric car can’t go far enough on a single charge and are also too expensive.
The government plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040 as part of its Road to Zero strategy to cut down on sometimes dangerously high air pollution. Currently, alternatively-fuelled vehicles, such as hybrids and pure electrics, hold just 5.5% of the UK’s new car market.
But as the AA research indicates, a lack of charging points could be a problem.
The mass market appeal of ultra-green vehicles may be restricted without widespread, reliable and easy-to-use charging points, a separate recent report by RAC warned.
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling set out a range of proposals earlier this week aimed at addressing this, including plans to assess whether new homes and offices should be required to install charging points as standard and whether street lights should be fitted with charging points.
King added: “In order to meet the government’s Road to Zero targets a concerted effort is required to demonstrate the benefits of electric vehicles and dispel some of the myths.
“The range, charging speed and charging point infrastructure are all on the increase. There needs to be a more concerted effort by us all to sell the benefits of electric vehicles.
“The electric vehicle revolution hasn’t perhaps taken off as quickly as we would have liked but now we have a firm commitment to the charging infrastructure.”