Car buyers unconvinced by 2030 ban

New research has found that more than half of all car buyers disagree with the 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars.

According to new research by What Car?, 59% disagreed with the environmentally-driven principle behind the ban while 29% of buyers said they do not understand which vehicles will be allowed on sale after 2030.

Its previous research found one-in-five buyers do not understand the differences between fully electric, plug-in hybrid, self-charging hybrid and mild-hybrid models. All these powertrains will be impacted by the 2030 ban in some way.

The study also asked respondents on which government measure they believe would have the biggest impact in accelerating the uptake of electric vehicles, with 40% wanting a better public charging network.

What Car? also found 24% of buyers are now more likely to consider an electric vehicle as their next car following the government announcement.

Steve Huntingford, editor of What Car?, said: “With more than half of in-market buyers in our latest study stating they disagree with the 2030 ban shows the government has its work cut out in convincing buyers to make the switch.

“More work needs to be done to explain the benefits of electric motoring and why the investment required is going to happen, while there’s also clearly a need for more spending into charging infrastructure and purchase incentives for buyers.”