Cost is both motivation and barrier for EV buyers, says OLEV study
News
13 Aug 2015
A new study released by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles for the Department for Transport has found that both upfront purchase price and running costs for Electric Vehicles (EV) are still the main concern for private and fleet car buyers.
Owners commonly cited saving money on fuel costs as a motivation for buying an EV, while a common barrier was purchase price. The the plug in car grant (PiCG) was also found to be an active motivation for private and fleet owners, leading OLEV to suggest that a package of well designed financial incentives may be the most effective means of increasing uptake.
Range was also found to be an important concern for buyers, and while the majority of EV owners charge their vehicle at home, the report suggests that additional public charging infrastructure could help to address these concerns.
Additionally, the findings also act to debunk some myths about EV ownership, with 82 percent of households that owned an EV using it as their main car, and 20 per cent using an EV as their only car. Where an EV is used as the main car in a household, the annual mileage was found to be approximately 8,850 miles, which is greater than the estimated average for all cars in the UK (8,430).
