Range anxiety recedes among electric vehicle owners
New research has found that 85% of electric vehicle owners haven’t run out of charge in the past year.
Despite this, a survey commissioned by car dealer group Dick Lovett found that 36% of UK motorists say running out of charge would be their biggest worry on a longer electric vehicle journey.
However, the fear is greater among drivers who have never owned an electric car compared to current owners, with 41% of non-electric vehicle drivers suffering range anxiety compared to just 23% of electric vehicle drivers.
According to AA data, just 1.85% of the electric vehicle breakdowns it attended in 2024 were due to running out of charge, down from 8.26% in 2015. The AA handles around 8,000 breakdowns a day, of which only five or six are electric vehicles out of charge.
Alex Lee, senior digital marketing executive at Dick Lovett, said: “Range anxiety is one of the most common things we hear from customers thinking about going electric, and it’s completely understandable. But our research shows it’s a worry that mostly belongs to people who haven’t driven an EV yet.
“Owners are far less concerned about running out of charge, and the vast majority haven’t. Once people have lived with an electric car for a few weeks, the question changes from, will I get there, to, which charger shall I stop at?”
