EV buyers put off by lack of infrastructure

Underlining the current shortfall of public charge points, a new survey has found that only a quarter of drivers would be comfortable owning an electric vehicle if they had to solely rely on public chargers for recharging.

According to the latest research by What Car? of 1276 in-market buyers, of which 265 were looking for an electric vehicle (EV), 74.7% of EV buyers would not be comfortable owning an electric car if they could only use public chargers.

The research also found 92.8% of EV buyers surveyed are able to recharge their car at home or nearby, with 87.8% either already owning or planning to install a wallbox charger to cover overnight charging.

Also surveyed was whether buyers intend to use the electric car as their primary or secondary vehicle, with 92.4% of EV buyers confirming the electric car will be the primary car they use for commuting and most trips.

Steve Huntingford, editor, What Car?, said: “The uptake of electric cars is one of the key success stories for the UK automotive sector, but for it to continue, the public charging network needs to improve. The charging network still isn’t perceived to be good enough by buyers, creating a problem for those without access to off-street parking.”

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