The UK’s largest ever survey of Electric Vehicle drivers and Cleantech enthusiasts (7,723 respondents) has found overwhelmingly, that around nine out of ten plug-in car drivers would never go back to petrol or diesel. After 8 years and 380 episodes, Robert Llewellyn’s Fully Charged – the World’s No.1 Clean Energy & Electric Vehicle channel – has received more than 7,700 responses to its first audience survey. The 50-question study illuminated consumer attitudes to the array of technologies that are set to dominate the next decade.
Fully Charged’s host, Robert Llewellyn (Channel 4’s Scrapheap Challenge, BBC’s Red Dwarf), commented:
“I have been banging on about Electric Cars, Solar Panels and Batteries for the best part of 10 years. So it’s incredibly gratifying to see the excitement that our viewers have for all things cleantech. Having experienced how impressive electric cars are, we were not surprised to see so many other drivers saying that they won’t go back to the combustion engine. But it might shock those that have yet to switch. Perhaps, more surprising was that two-thirds of our audience who are yet to buy an EV intend to do so in the next 2 years.”
Consumers to ‘ditch and switch’ brands
According to the survey 56.89% of the Fully Charged audience that do not yet own an Electric Vehicle, intend to acquire one by the end of 2020. Three quarters planning to purchase a pure Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV), as opposed to a Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV). This means that 87.67% of respondents could ‘choose a different brand to those that they have historically preferred. And it might cause concern amongst those car companies that are yet to offer a credible line-up of all-electric models.
Misplaced cost concerns
Furthermore, the principle issue that has held consumers back from buying an EV to date is neither the lack of attractive, available options nor the lack of charging infrastructure, rather it’s the perceived cost of new (33%) and used (14.9%) Electric Vehicles. This is in spite of the fact that EVs are increasingly competitive over the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). The latter is a result of their much lower running costs.
Green technology revolution
The Fully Charged audience typically has a high proportion of ‘early-adopters’. There’s an almost equal interest in EVs (88.67%) and Clean Energy/Renewables (88.61%). The survey shows that they are more interested in new technology itself than the problems those technologies might mitigate against. Such are Air Pollution (39.83%) and Climate Change (44.39%). Attitudes to home energy reveal that of those considering a new energy supplier, 68.91% intend to switch to a ‘green energy’ supplier. Meanwhile, 83.74% show interest in ‘new energy technologies’ not least Solar PV, Batteries, Smart Controls, Heat Pumps and Vehicle-to-Grid.
“We’ve always maintained that simply because they are better technologies, Electric Vehicles and Renewables will become mainstream,” said Robert. “And this is borne out by our survey. It’s the cars in particular that are starting to turn heads, and having driven all of them from the Tesla Model 3 to VW’s hotly-anticipated I.D., I can honestly say that there’s a really cool choice of Electric Cars for almost every budget. At Fully Charged, we’re working hard to help consumers understand how easy it is to live with Electric Vehicles and how the experience is even better if you can power them with Clean Energy.”
Fully Charged Live Exhibition
Fully Charged is also bringing its Fully Charged LIVE show back to Silverstone. This will happen on 7th, 8th and 9th June. Then it will be looking to replicate this hugely successful format in North America at the Circuit of the Americas (Austin, Texas) later in the year.
Happy New Year from Fully Charged!
Here’s a shiny new, News Episode for you:https://t.co/yImrmgTX3M
(Includes #Fiat 500e, #VW mobile charger, #Volvo quarry truck, #Hydrogen ferry, peak #InternalCombustionEngine & more) pic.twitter.com/7olKcjwVkG
— Fully Charged Show (@FullyChargedShw) January 7, 2019
