A new survey published by Motor Trader and British Gas has revealed that UK car dealers believe that the majority of their customers are open to the idea of purchasing an Electric Vehicle (EV).
The research found that 32.9 percent of their customers would consider buying an EV at the moment, and a further 30.8 percent believed that customers would be more open to exploring EVs if they were provided with more information. On the flip side, less than a third of the dealers surveyed thought that their customers would not be at all receptive to EVs.
Commenting on the results, Dan Taylor, British Gas’s Director of New Ventures, said: “It’s encouraging to see two-thirds of dealers believe customers are receptive to buying an EV. People do have a massive issue with the rise in petrol and diesel prices over the last couple of years.”
The survey also predicts that EVs could account for as much as 5 percent of the new car market by 2015, growing by between 6-20 percent to 2020.
The survey highlights that the public are willing to embrace EVs as part of the nation’s push to decarbonise its transport system. The development of a strong UK EV market should complement the UK PV market. A common criticism of EVs is that they still have to be charged using fossil fuel-generated electricity. However, a solar canopy can help charge EVs with carbon-free energy for a truly carbon-free journey.
The development of battery and storage technology is also closely linked to EVs fortunes. If EVs are embraced then the pace of technological progression of battery and energy storage will unlock options that will allow solar generated-electricity to be stored cost effectively. Cost-effective storage of renewable energy would dramatically help a low-carbon grid by ending the unpredictable and intermittent power that is currently supplied by renewables.