A poll of petrol and diesel car drivers has revealed a ‘poor’ level of knowledge of electric cars that’s hindering consumers from making the switch.

More than half (57%) of petrol/diesel cars drivers scored two or less out of 10 correct answers

When asked if 10 separate statements about EVs were true or false, more than half (57%) of petrol/diesel cars drivers got just two or less out of 10 correct, with 90% scoring just five or less. Around a quarter (23%) got none correct.

The poll, carried out by YouGov for the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), shows the impact of misinformation on drivers’ desire to go electric. Respondents 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.

The poll reinforces a House of Lords Committee report earlier in the year in which it expressed concern about a “concerted campaign of misinformation” about EVs.

Key findings from the report include:

• Nearly two-thirds (62%) of petrol drivers believe it’s more expensive to own and run an EV, with only 14% correctly recognising that EVs are typically cheaper. A report from ECIU found that the drivers of the top 10 selling petrol cars of 2023 can find themselves paying a petrol premium of £700 a year in running costs, compared to an equivalent electric car.
• A total of 41% of petrol drivers incorrectly think that EVs are more likely to catch fire than petrol cars, with only 24% correct in their understanding that they are less likely to catch fire. Evidence from EV Fire Safe indicated that EVs are more than 80 times less likely to catch fire than petrol or diesel cars.
• More than half (59%) of petrol drivers thought the UK’s electricity grid “will not be able to cope” with the UK’s shift to EVs, whereas only one in five (20%) correctly identified this statement as false. The National Grid has explicitly labelled this a ‘myth’ and is clear that the power system will be able to cope with millions more EVs in the UK.
• The majority (80%) of petrol/diesel drivers think the UK is not on course to install the charging infrastructure it needs, despite the country being ahead of schedule to hit its target of 300,000 chargers on the UK’s roads by 2030, according to ChargeUK.
• More drivers (35%) incorrectly believed that an EV’s lifetime CO2 emissions are no less than those of a petrol car than correctly identified this statement as false (32%). An EV being driven in the UK produces three times less lifetime CO2 emissions that an equivalent petrol or diesel car.

There were some areas where more fossil fuel car drivers got the answer right than wrong. This includes energy independence where 37% recognised that more EVs running on British renewable electricity would make the UK more energy independent than relying on increasing imports of oil and petrol. A total of 29% agreed with the incorrect statement that EVs would weaken the UK’s energy independence.

Meanwhile, 54% correctly disagreed with the statement that EVs are not better for urban air quality than petrol cars. Only 28% believed this statement to be true.

And more petrol/diesel drivers (39%) correctly disagreed with the statement that EVs pose a threat to the structural integrity of the UK’s car parks than incorrectly agreed with it (33%).

Colin Walker, head of transport at ECIU, said: “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.”

He added: “The car industry is going to have to get serious about EV misinformation and the new government will need to ask if it has a role to play too.”

EV campaign group FairCharge, which is also trying to put the record straight on electric vehicles, said the high level of ignorance about EVs had been created “by a circular loop of repeated misinformation across social media and newspapers, posted and written for largely ideological reasons”.

Quentin Willson, founder of FairCharge, continued: “We know that for some, EVs will never fit into their belief systems, but that shouldn’t mean that thousands of ordinary drivers get suckered into believing the long loop of lies. You can become an expert on EVs just by doing some simple research on your own using independent and trusted data sources. The truth about EVs is in the palm of your hands.”

James Court, CEO of EVA England, said: “Our daily conversations with EV drivers, backed up by surveys, tell a constant story – that the vast majority of EV drivers are delighted with their cars, and would never go back to petrol or diesel. That’s because electric driving is cheap, clean and fun.”

He continued: “We want to see industry and government think seriously about what they can do to tackle this misinformation. Because we know that, once people have access to accurate information, many will choose to make the move to electric driving and won’t look back.”