Majority of motorists say EV switch ‘imminent’
A majority of motorists now say they will consider an electric car in the near future.
According to research by the online car supermarket BuyaCar.co.uk, this is the first time a majority of car buyers have signalled that their switch to an EV is imminent.
The findings are also supported by a marked increase in interest in used electric vehicles on its website. So far this year there has been a 40% increase in searches for EVs across its platform compared with the same period in 2020.
Of the 422 motorists asked what type of car they are considering next, 51% said they will consider an EV ‘in the near future’. Fewer than one in three drivers said that they were not interested in buying an electric car imminently while the remaining 18.7% said that they have not yet started thinking about it.
Interest was boosted dramatically in the wake of Boris Johnson’s announcement last year that new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars would be banned from 2030, which led to a spike in used EVs being ordered.
Christofer Lloyd, editor of BuyaCar.co.uk, said: “Clearly the switch to EVs will not happen overnight and relying entirely on sales data can be misleading because today’s sales fail to reflect the growing underlying interest in electric cars. But a 40% increase in searches – even from an initially low level – is clear evidence that an EV is now certainly in the mix for a rapidly growing number of people during their initial car buying research.
“It seems clear that last year’s government announcement of the end for new internal combustion engines has boosted EVs into the mainstream in terms of the initial options considered by our customers.”
