New research led by Paythru has indicated that 80% of UK drivers may be deterred from driving an EV due to poor experience at the chargepoint.
One of the primary issues with the poor charging experience comes with difficulties in finding an EV chargepoint when it is required. This is an area that has been impacting the sector over recent months.
Via the Taming the EV Charging ‘Wild West’ report, which presents research from 2,042 British residents surveyed, of which 1,975 were not currently EV drivers, finding EV chargepoints was cited as a critical issue deterring many from adopting the clean vehicles.
Over half (54%) said not being able to find a chargepoint when it is required would put them off getting an EV and a further 26% said it might. A total of 80% highlighted it as a concern.
“Taken together, this paints a picture of a population in which around 10-20% are not concerned about these challenges and will probably get an EV when the time is right. For the rest, around a third see at least one aspect of user experience as a major disincentive to buying an EV, and another third are at least somewhat deterred by them,” said James O’Neill, CEO of Paythru.
“To date, EV charging and payment infrastructure have been built around scale rather than user experience. Our research clearly demonstrates that once we move beyond early adopters, the UK public will need a much better user experience at the charge point before they are willing to take the plunge.”
Alongside these statistics, over half of the respondents said having to download different apps to access electric vehicle charging points was a disincentive that would (31%) or might (23%) put them off getting an EV.
Despite the fears associated by non-EV drivers in finding an EV chargepoint, the UK continues to the rollout of infrastructure at a rapid rate. EV charging mapping tool Zap-Map confirmed that 1,100 EV charging devices had been installed across the entirety of the UK in September.
According to statistics released by Zap-Map, there are now over 34,000 public charging devices in the UK, across nearly 21,000 charging locations. This represents a 35% increase in the total number of charging devices since September 2021.
By scaling the number of EV chargers available to the general public, it helps to increase accessibility which, as indicated by the Paythru report, could lead to further adoption of EVs.
Despite the concerns in EV chargepoints as referenced in the report, the adoption of EVs has seen an increase over the course of 2022, with pure battery electric vehicle (BEV) figures having exceeded half a million to reach 519,266 at the end of June 2022, the RAC revealed.
Licensed BEVs one year earlier stood at 282,977 and 130,246 at the end of June 2020, stated the RAC, which analysed data released by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).
With an increase in charging infrastructure forecasted for the coming years, it is believed that EV adoption will continue to grow ahead of the internal combustion engine (ICE) sale ban in 2030.
