Almost half of British car buyers looking to buy electric vehicles

BRITAIN has reached a “tipping point” in the electric car revolution with almost half of all buyers in the UK now seeking to purchase a fully batterypowered vehicle, research has found.

A total 49pc of drivers looking to buy a car said they would choose an electric vehicle, a significant leap on 21pc just two years ago.

Drivers are increasingly interested in owning electric models owing to a combination of environmental concerns and rising penalties on petrol and diesel cars, a survey by EY revealed.

The accountancy firm said the speed of the shift was “eye-opening” with manufacturers now needing to make sure they are catching up with demand.

Maria Bengtsson of EY said: “These findings truly mark a tipping point in the UK car-buying market. Nearly 50pc of consumers across the UK indicating that they want an electric vehicle is a significant milestone in the transition from internal combustion engines.

“Consumers are becoming increasingly socially and environmentally conscious, and they’re willing to pay a premium to meet their environmental standards.”

The EY Mobility Consumer Index surveyed 18,000 people in 18 countries including 1,000 people in the UK.

The proportion of drivers looking to go electric in the UK is significantly behind their counterparts in Italy, where almost three quarters are planning to buy a battery-powered vehicle. Meanwhile, 69pc of drivers in China want to buy an electric car, and 63pc in South Korea.

However, the UK raced ahead of Australia and the US, where just 38pc and 29pc were committed to purchasing an electric car.

The Government is to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030. Many cities have introduced charges on petrol and diesel cars driving through, such as London’s low emission zone.

In the UK, 46pc of respondents said the penalties on petrol and diesel cars was the main reason to buy an electric car, while 45pc cited environmental concerns.

The biggest barriers to getting an electric model were given as upfront costs as well as lack of charging stations and concern over how long a car could travel before needing to recharge.

David Borland, automotive lead for EY in the UK and Ireland, said he expected such concerns to start to fade as both infrastructure and batteries improve.

The “vast majority” of journeys are “relatively short”, he added.

The Daily Telegraph reported in April how the average battery-powered car can now travel almost 260 miles on a single charge.

An electric car in the UK has an average battery range of 257 miles compared with 74 miles in 2011, according to industry trade body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). The number of available vehicles has also surged almost 15-fold to 140, with more than four in 10 cars on the market now sold with a plug. Meanwhile, there are more than 30,000 public chargers available, up by one third in a year, although the Government wants to have 300,000 available by the end of the decade.

There remains significant variation: the North West has 5.9 rapid chargers per 100,000 people compared to 111 in London.

Electric cars made up nearly 28pc of new car sales in April. The SMMT expects about 289,000 battery electric vehicles to be sold in the UK this year.

In May it cut its forecasts for overall car sales this year, however, from 1.72m to 1.89m as the cost of living squeeze and chip shortages affect the market.