Myths and misconceptions about electric vehicles are now firmly entrenched in many consumers’ minds, undermining confidence in the shift away from internal combustion engine vehicles.

Countering EV myths is becoming ever more important to the energy transition

Electrify Research, a new insight agency, is now running quarterly tracking surveys to provide accurate and reliable data on homeowner attitudes to and adoption of home electrification technologies.

Its research compares homeowner views on electrification in the UK, USA, France and Germany and finds fallacies have penetrated deep into the public consciousness in all four of the countries.

The agency tested six “myths”:

• Mass adoption of EVs swaps one problem (pollution / carbon dioxide from oil / gas) with another (lithium and cobalt mining, dead batteries)
• The batteries in EVs makes them a serious fire-hazard
• The electricity grid won’t be able to cope with the demands of mass EV adoption
• EV batteries will wear out too quickly, meaning re-sale values will be poor
• Public chargers for EVs are unreliable and often out of order
• EVs are so heavy they cause greater tyre wear which makes the problem of micro-plastics in the environment even worse

Of the beliefs tested, the one with most widespread buy-in was ‘Mass adoption of EVs swaps one problem (pollution / carbon dioxide from oil / gas) with another (lithium and cobalt mining, dead batteries)’.

Overall, 62% of respondents either agreed (33%) or agreed strongly (29%) with this statement. While it’s true that there are some environmental concerns with the mining, production, recycling and disposal of batteries, the scientific consensus is that the impact is minor in comparison to that of drilling, refining, distribution, and burning of petroleum products.

The idea with the second most acceptance is, ‘The batteries in EVs makes them a serious fire- hazard’. Although agreement with this myth shows the biggest level of variation within the four nations, some 56% of respondents agreed with this overall.  According to many sources, EVs are around 20 times less likely to catch fire than ICE cars.

The third most widely held argument was that‘The electricity grid won’t be able to cope with the demands of mass EV adoption”. Agreement was highest in Germany (61%) and lowest in the UK (50%) and averaged out at 55%. That’s despite most grid operators having been planning for the conversion of the national car fleet to EVs for some time and they understand that the cars will turn fully electric within in a relatively short period given upcoming ICE bans.

The next suggestion – ‘EV batteries will wear out too quickly meaning re-sale values will be poor’ – was agreed with by 46% of respondents.

The next idea: ‘Public chargers for EVs are unreliable and often out of order’ is the one with, arguably, the most validity to it, although this is subjective. Each country has its own challenges in this regard. UK homeowners have the highest level of agreement with the statement (53%). This is significantly higher than all other countries (Germany 42%, France 44%, the USA 44%) and suggests that the UK needs to improve its infrastructure or increase the awareness and education around the existing options.

The belief with the lowest level of agreement among homeowners is: ‘EVs are so heavy they cause greater tyre wear which makes the problem of micro-plastics in the environment even worse’. While it’s true that electric cars are heavy, evidence indicates that tyre wear hardly differs between EVs and ICE cars. Yet around a third of homeowners still agree with the statement.

It’s also worth noting that some demographic variations emerge across all EV misconceptions, for example, males consistently show a higher likelihood of myth-agreement compared to females. Meanwhile, respondents who deem themselves concerned about climate change are less prone to believing the myths compared to those who declare themselves to be less concerned, indicating environmentally conscious individuals have greater resilience against myth-spreaders.

Ben Marks, MD of Electrify Research, said: “The findings here are worrying. They show that in four advanced and supposedly well-informed markets the myth makers are often winning. Myths serve only to create confusion and hesitancy in the adoption of technologies that are going to underpin our transition away from hydrocarbons. I think it is time to take stronger steps against the hydrocarbon lobby and the others who either, overtly or covertly, cook up and spread deliberate and self-serving misinformation.”

Quentin Willson, motoring Journalist and founder of the FairCharge campaign, commented, “This is excellent, but scary research. The FairCharge and Stop Burning Stuff campaigns have been saying how many of the more inaccurate EV myths have become deeply embedded and here’s the proof from Electrify Research. Countering these inaccuracies is becoming ever more important to the energy transition.”

And Ben Nelmes, CEO of consultancy business New AutoMotive, said: “There is a mountain of misinformation to be overcome before electric vehicles can go mainstream. Much of this is being promoted by organisations and individuals with an interest in delaying the inevitable transition to electric vehicles, and keeping people stuck in their polluting cars for longer.

“This report is a wake-up call for the Government and industry to promote many benefits of electric vehicles; as a solution to the climate crisis but also to the cost-of- living crisis in which many motorists are increasingly having to choose between an empty tank or an empty wallet.”