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Misinformation affecting EV uptake, study finds
A poll of petrol car drivers by YouGov for the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) has found a ‘poor’ level of knowledge of EVs (electric vehicles).
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hen asked if ten separate statements about EVs were true or false, more than half (57%) of petrol/diesel cars drivers got just two or less out of ten correct, with 90% scoring just five or less out of ten. Around a quarter (23%) got none correct.
This is affecting drivers’ car choices, with people displaying a poor understanding of EVs being less likely to want their next car to be an EV. Drivers who scored two or less out of 10 were 11 times less likely to want their next car to be an EV than those who scored eight or more out of 10.
“Campaign of misinformation” A Lords committee published a report on electric
20 | electrical wholesalerDecember 2024
vehicles earlier in the year in which it expressed concern about a “concerted campaign of misinformation” about EVs. This polling illustrates the impact of this misinformation, confusing people about the realities of EV ownership and dissuading them from making the shift to cleaner and cheaper electric driving.
Colin Walker, head of transport at ECIU, said: “Poll after poll has found EV drivers love their cars and simply wouldn’t go back to petrol. But all the myths being pedalled about EVs are misleading some petrol car drivers, who now have a really poor knowledge of electric cars. For example, they don’t realise that a petrol car costs a lot more to own and run over its lifetime than an electric car – a ‘petrol premium’ that can leave them hundreds of pounds out of pocket every
year. The constant stream of EV misinformation is clearly causing confusion, and holding many of the UK’s drivers back from making the switch to cleaner and cheaper electric driving. “The previous government’s Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate is increasing competition between manufacturers, bringing down upfront costs and will start to feed the second-hand market where most of us buy our cars. Second- hand EVs are already at price parity with petrol cars, but are so much cheaper to run, so the policy is set to bring down the costs of motoring for ordinary families.
“What petrol drivers have clocked is that running EVs on British renewables will improve the UK’s energy security as we reduce our dependence on imports of foreign oil and
ewnews.co.uk
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