An electric car revolution that could run out of power unless cost drops

YOUGOV data shows that, by 60 per cent to 24 per cent, British drivers are agreed that electric cars are the future of the motor industry.

Of course, “future” may be the operative word: Kia’s UK chief Paul Philpott recently suggested that affordable small electric cars were “not viable” due to the high cost of batteries, and that the company didn’t intend to bring mass market EVs to the nation’s showrooms just yet.

Looking at YouGov Profiles data on current electric car ownership shows that these vehicles are more likely to be

Stephan Shakespeare

owned by drivers with greater means.

When asked, a third say they are in a higher income bracket (33 per cent) compared to a fifth of British drivers (18 per cent). Two-fifths (42 per cent) bring in over £50,000 per year in gross house- hold income – compared to just three in ten (29 per cent) drivers.

If Philpott is pessimistic about affordability, however, the most cited reason for buying a battery-powered vehicle among electric car owners is lower running costs: two in five (38 per cent) say this is a key purchase motivation. For comparison, just three in ten (28 per cent) cite protecting the environment as a reason to buy.

So if the upfront price of an electric car is a hurdle – and it’s the most commonly chosen barrier to purchase among current drivers of electric cars (14 per cent) and British drivers overall (10 per cent) –those who can afford to make the jump may pay less in the long run.

Nevertheless, our data shows that nearly three in five drivers (57 per cent) and half of electric car owners (51 per cent) believe it “costs too much” to be green all the time. If prices cannot be reduced in the short term, emphasising the financial benefits of owning an electric car – after the initial outlay – may do more to incentivise drivers to “go electric” in a cost of living crisis than environmental arguments.