Negative tabloid and social media coverage means more than four out of 10 people (43%) think electric vehicles catch fire easily, new research shows.

Work is currently underway in the EV sector to help counter myths and misinformation

May’s new Startline Used Car Tracker also reveals 52% of Brits believe EV batteries become useless after just a few years, 26% that they are ultimately more polluting than petrol cars, and 24% that drivers can lose control of the vehicles, which will then run away with them.

Paul Burgess, CEO at Startline Motor Finance, said: “There’s been a wave of inaccurate, sometimes sensationalist coverage about EVs over the last couple of years and our research shows that it is having a damaging effect on public perception.

“It appears that there are a relatively large number of people who, after seeing, hearing or reading negative coverage, believe that if they buy an EV, it is likely to either burst into flames or become useless after a short period of time due to battery failure.

“Both of these things are, of course, untrue but are probably having an effect on demand for EVs in both the new and used market. As electric cars become more common over time, these myths will no doubt start to fade but in the shorter term, more should probably be done by the motor industry as a whole to counter them.”

Work is currently underway in the EV sector to help counter misinformation. EV campaign group FairCharge launched its #StopBurningStuff initiative late last year in collaboration with Robert Llewellyn’s Fully Charged Show. It aims to counter incorrect anti-EV rhetoric and is endorsed by scientists, climate ambassadors and senior industry.

FairCharge has since launched its Little Book of EV Myths, designed to provide a definitive guide that sets straight most of the myths around electric vehicles.

And the Government’s Plan for Drivers published in October 2023 included a commitment to working with industry to myth bust concerns about EVs.

Startline’s latest Used Car Tracker also shows that 47% of people believe that EVs lose significant range in cold weather and 47% that they cost more to run and maintain than equivalent petrol or diesel models.

Burgess said: “At least there is some degree of accuracy to these beliefs. While the extent to which EVs lose power in cold weather is often exaggerated, there is some loss of range, while current costs are higher than petrol vehicles, although this is changing quite quickly.”

The Startline Used Car Tracker is compiled monthly for Startline Motor Finance by APD Global Research and quizzed 303 consumers and 60 dealers for the latest edition.