“Worrying myths” prevent motorists going electric

A recent survey by OVO Energy has found that the public backs electric vehicles, but “worrying myths” are preventing people from making the switch to electric.

The results show that out of 2,000 people surveyed, 87 per cent said they “would” or “definitely would” buy one.

Concern over climate change could be one of the reasons fuelling this, with 79 per cent saying they were “concerned” or “very concerned” about their environmental footprint.

The public also expects electric vehicles to be the next major trend in household technology. When asked to predict which technology was set to take our homes by storm, ‘electric vehicles’ came out at 37.8 per cent – beating items such as VR headsets and webcam doorbells.

Positive expectations aside, the electric revolution is still being stalled to some extent by the factors putting people off a purchase.

A large number of those surveyed cited myths as the reasons putting them off buying an EV – myths that can easily be debunked.

The top concern was lack of charging point, stated by (56 per cent), followed by expense (49 per cent), range anxiety (45 per cent), time taken to charge (43 per cent), and running costs (38 per cent).

Tom Pakenham, head of electric vehicles, OVO Energy said: “At OVO Energy we’re always looking for ways to help customers by providing clear information on the next amazing thing about to arrive in their household - the electric vehicle.

“We’ve worked hard to overcome any concerns they may have by myth-busting and encouraging our customers to make the switch to electric. That’s why we launched EV Everywhere, bundling 100 per cent renewable household energy with free membership to the largest charging network in the country, which provides the best one-stop household and electric vehicle plan on the market today.”