Most petrol car drivers score just 2 out of 10 for EV knowledge

In a poll of 1,000 Non-Electric Vehicle (EV) Drivers in the UK​ and 1,000 Electric Vehicle (EV) Drivers in the UK conducted by YouGov from 4th to 15th April 2024, When asked if ten separate statements about EVs were true or false, more than half (57%) of petrol/diesel cars drivers got just 2 or less out of ten correct, with 90% scoring just five or less out of ten. Around a quarter (23%) got none correct.

This is affecting drivers’ car choices, with people displaying a poor understanding of EVs being less likely to want their next car to be an EV. Drivers who scored two or less out of 10 were 11 times less likely to want their next car to be an EV than those who scored eight or more out of 10. 64.6% of non-EV drivers who scored eight or more out of 10 in the test stated that they wanted their next car to be an EV. The figure for those who scored two or less out of 10 was 6.1%.

A Lords committee published a report on electric vehicles earlier in the year in which it expressed concern about a “concerted campaign of misinformation” about EVs. This polling illustrates the impact of this misinformation, confusing people about the realities of EV ownership and dissuading them from making the shift to cleaner and cheaper electric driving.

The statements covered costs of owning and running an EV, charging, the natural resources needed to build and run an EV and even the likelihood of a fire. For example:

• Nearly two-thirds (62%) of petrol drivers believe it’s more expensive to own and run an EV, with only 14% correctly recognising that EVs are typically cheaper. A report from ECIU found that the drivers of the top 10 selling petrol cars of 2023 can find themselves paying a petrol premium of £700 a year in running costs, compared to an equivalent electric car.
• 41% of petrol drivers incorrectly think that EVs are more likely to catch fire than petrol cars, with only 24% correct in their understanding that they are less likely to catch fire. Evidence from EV Fire Safe indicated that EVs are more than 80 times less likely to catch fire than petrol or diesel cars.
• More than half (59%) of petrol drivers thought the UK’s electricity grid “will not be able to cope” with the UK’s shift to EVs, whereas only one in five (20%) correctly identified this statement as false. The National Grid has explicitly labelled this a ‘myth’ and is clear that the power system will be able to cope with millions more EVs in the UK.
• 80% of petrol drivers think the UK is not on course to install the charging infrastructure it needs, despite the country being ahead of schedule to hit its target of 300,000 chargers on the UK’s roads by 2030.
• More drivers (35%) incorrectly believed that an EV’s lifetime CO2 emissions are no less than those of a petrol car than correctly identified this statement as false (32%). An EV being driven in the UK produces three times less lifetime CO2 emissions that an equivalent petrol or diesel car.

Where more petrol car drivers got the answer right than wrong was around energy independence where 37% recognized that more EVs running on British renewable electricity would make the UK more energy independent than relying on increasing imports of oil and petrol. 29% agreed with the incorrect statement that EVs would weaken the UK’s energy independence.

54% correctly disagreed with the statement that EVs are not better for urban air quality than petrol cars. Only 28% believed this statement to be true.

More petrol drivers (39%) correctly disagreed with the statement that EVs pose a threat to the structural integrity of the UK’s car parks than incorrectly agreed with it (33%).