Three out of four drivers believe the high cost of public charging to be the most significant barrier to wider uptake of electric vehicles.

Driver research indicates action is needed to tackle the triple effect of high public charging costs, anti-EV misinformation and the high initial costs of EV purchase

Other major concerns revealed in a survey by EVA England include the deterrent effect of common ‘EV misinformation and myths’ and the high initial purchasing costs of EVs compared to petrol and diesel equivalents.

The new report from the EV driver membership body launches amidst concerns in the EV sector that a lack of consumer incentives risks derailing the progress made towards EV uptake so far. Many of the responses to the Government’s ZEV consultation that closed this week centred around the need for more support measures to help drivers go electric.

EVA England urged the Government to take note of its report findings as it warned that there are still significant barriers to wider uptake.

Vicky Edmonds, chief executive, said: “Action is needed to tackle the triple effect of high public charging costs, the constant drip feed of anti-EV misinformation from vested interests and the high initial costs of EV purchase.

“In addition, we urge the Government to consider a raft of other measures that can, in combination and over time, help ensure that demand for EVs continues to grow at the required pace to help meet the country’s climate targets.”

In its response to the ZEV consultation, EVA England made 14 recommendations to government.

These include:

• An expansion of workplace salary sacrifice schemes.
• The introduction of a scheme that allows access to lower cost EVs for lower-income households, such as a French-style social leasing scheme or used car loan scheme.
• Simplified application and permit processes for the installation of cross-pavement charging solutions.
• Minimum compliance with accessibility standards for drivers with disabilities.
• Regulated signage for charging points to improve charge point visibility in terms of both location and cost, as also spotlighted by the AA and UK charge point operators.

Edmonds added: “EV uptake has risen quickly over the last 15 years. In 2010. there were just over 1,500 electric cars on UK roads, compared to over one million today. Much of this impressive growth can be closely linked to government incentives and regulations aimed at EV uptake.

“But as the market evolves so do the challenges, meaning a new set of actions is now needed to encourage more drivers to take up an EV.”

EVA England’s report on Key Steps to Driving ZEV Demand is online here.