Poll: Most petrol car drivers score just 2 out of 10 for EV knowledge
Misinformed petrol car drivers scoring badly are 11 times less likely to want to go electric.
By Colin Walker
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Polling of petrol car drivers by YouGov for the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) has found a ‘poor’ level of knowledge of electric cars [1].
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 [2].
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 [3]. 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.
Colin Walker, Head of Transport at ECIU, said:
“Poll after poll has found EV drivers love their cars and simply wouldn’t go back to petrol. But all the myths being pedaled about EVs are misleading some petrol car drivers who now have a really poor knowledge of electric cars. For example they don’t realise that a petrol car costs a lot more to own and run over its lifetime than an electric car – a ‘petrol premium’ that can leave them hundreds of pounds out of pocket every year. The constant stream of EV misinformation is clearly causing confusion, and holding many of the UK’s drivers back from making the switch to cleaner and cheaper electric driving.
“The previous government’s Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate is increasing competition between manufacturers, bringing down upfront costs and will start to feed the second-hand market where most of us buy our cars. Second-hand EVs are already at price parity with petrol cars, but are so much cheaper to run, so the policy is set to bring down the costs of motoring for ordinary families.
“What petrol drivers have clocked is that running EVs on British renewables will improve the UK’s energy security as we reduce our dependence on imports of foreign oil and petrol.
“The car industry is going to have to get serious about EV misinformation and the new government will need to ask if it has a role to play too.”
Edmund King, AA president, said:
“The switch to electric vehicles is a big jump for many, particularly when they don’t know what they are getting into. We find drivers are ‘hesitant’ rather than ‘hostile’ and much of this hesitancy is fuelled by misinformation. Once drivers get behind the wheel of an EV they rarely look back when they realise that EVs are better in terms of economy, environment, and excitement.”
Quentin Willson, founder of FairCharge, said:
"The energy transition is also a technology transition, away from the inefficient internal combustion engine to batteries and electric motors. The high level of ignorance about EVs has been created by a circular loop of repeated misinformation across social media and newspapers, posted and written for largely ideological reasons.
“Ironically, factual, evidence-based information on EV and batteries is literally in your grasp, your smartphone, where web searches will pull up the very latest data on battery life, EV fire risks, reliability, longevity and total cost of ownership. Too many consumers have been duped into believing re-heated, ill-informed myths and misinformation that’s often years old.
“We know that for some, EVs will never fit into their belief systems, but that shouldn’t mean that thousands of ordinary drivers get suckered into believing the long loop of lies. You can become an expert on EVs just by doing some simple research on your own using independent and trusted data sources. The truth about EVs is in the palm of your hands."
James Court, CEO of EVA England, said:
“Our daily conversations with EV drivers, backed up by surveys, tell a constant story – that the vast majority of EV drivers are delighted with their cars, and would never go back to petrol or diesel. That’s because electric driving is cheap, clean and fun.
“What’s frustrating is that the constant stream of misinformation about EVs is holding so many people back from accessing all these benefits. This poll reveals the extent to which many of the UK’s drivers have developed negative views about EVs that have no basis in reality.
“We want to see industry and Government think seriously about what they can do to tackle this misinformation. Because we know that, once people have access to accurate information, many will chose to make the move to electric driving and won’t look back”.
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. [4]
- 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. [5]
- 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 [6].
- 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. [7]
- 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. [8]
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%).
Notes to editors
[1] Polling 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.
[2] 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%.
[5] https://www.evfiresafe.com/post/how-common-are-ev-fires
[6] https://www.nationalgrid.com/stories/journey-to-net-zero/electric-vehicles-myths-misconceptions
[7] Charge UK White Paper: Powering Ahead to 2030