It was fantastic to launch our new report, Driving Away from Fossil Fuels, in the House of Commons last week with campaign supporter, Stephen Metcalfe MP.
During the session, we discussed the ongoing need to ensure the EV transition works for all drivers, not just those well-off, and the practical policy steps needed from the Government to make EV ownership more affordable.
The key findings of our report are as follows:
Demand for electric vehicles is strong and growing rapidly: with equivalent purchase price, running cost, access to home and public charging, all (100%) consumers surveyed would choose a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) (53%) or a battery electric vehicle (47%) over a petrol or diesel car.
Charging infrastructure does not pose a significant barrier to consumer demand: the state of public charging infrastructure does not significantly impact consumer demand due to the high concentration of off-street parking in the UK. However, consumers without access to home charging are on average 9% less likely to purchase a BEV than those with home charging. Government should ensure charging infrastructure roll out keeps pace with uptake so nobody is left behind.
An ambitious ZEV mandate is needed to capitalise on growing consumer demand: purchase price is by far the single most important factor influencing prospective new car buyers. The Government should set more ambitious targets for the ZEV mandate to stimulate investment, drive down costs and allow the market to reach purchase price parity sooner. This will help EVs reach the second hand market faster too.
We recommend the Government set the trajectory of EV sales required by the ZEV mandate at the
level of the Climate Change Committee’s Balanced Net Zero Pathway.
