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SALES of electric vehicles are on the rise as we accelerate towards the Government’s aim to end the production of diesel and petrol vehicles by 2030 – but there is still a lot of pushback.

The car industry faces strong resistance from much of the British public according to a national survey finds from digital pollsters Find Out Now which asked nearly 5,500 people: Would you consider an electric car for your next purchase/lease?

Less than 2% said they owned one already, while more than 38% offered a flat “no”.

Find Out Now interviewed over 5,478 people online and discovered a striking regional disparity. Only 26% of those in Greater London seem against electric cars, compared to 47% of those in Wales and 46% of those in the East of England.

Energy regulator Ofgem approved funding for £300 million of projects including 3,550 new charging points for electric vehicles. Recent press reports have shown many drivers are anxious that they will run out of fuel far from an electric charge facility.

When Find Out Now asked the “no” sayers “Why would you not consider buying an electric car?” the reasons were as follows:

  • They’re too expensive: 54%
  • Lack of chargers near me: 42%
  • I don’t think they go far enough on a single charge: 37%
  • I’m waiting for them to get better first: 25%
  • I don’t believe they benefit the environment: 18%
  • I don’t care about the environmental benefits: 2.4%

However, ultra-low emission vehicle adoption is increasing year on year. With continually improving technology, government grants and the prospect of the petrol ban in 2030, the prospect of owning an EV is becoming more attractive and affordable for many.

New data compiled by Leasing Options from the DVLA reveals which regions of the UK are making the switch the quickest, and for once, it is not London or the South East.

Region 2018 2019 2018-2019 % Increase 2020 2019-2020 % Increase
North West 2,567 3,772 47% 14,814 293%
South West 8,585 8,821 3% 29,762 237%
Wales 938 1,241 32% 3,616 191%
South East 14,580 16,934 16% 41,325 144%
North East 679 919 35% 2,037 122%
Yorkshire 4,977 7,819 57% 17,122 119%
Scotland 3,529 5,066 44% 10,990 117%
East 8,474 9,256 9% 18,232 97%
East Midlands 3,155 3,701 17% 7,181 94%
West Midlands 9,307 12,530 35% 20,088 60%
London 6,367 9,686 52% 13,956 44%
UK 63,879 80,578 26% 181,090 125%

Last year saw the UK take to EV’s like never before, in fact over twice the amount of people (181,090) registered an electric vehicle than they did in 2019 (80,578). Not only that but between 2018 and 2019 the uptake of Electric vehicles had only increased by 26%, whereas by the end of 2020 that figure stands at 125%.

In 2019, the region that registered the most EVs compared to the previous year was Yorkshire, closely followed by London. Looking ahead to 2020, the North West and South West regions of the UK have adopted electric faster than any other regions with an impressive increase of 293% and 237% respectively on 2019.

Possibly most interestingly, the South West which saw the slowest uptake in 2019, has shot to the top of the list by registering the 3rd highest number of any region in 2020, and now has the second most EVs in the UK in total. In fact, they have the highest number of EV’s per 100,000 people in the whole of the country.

 

 

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