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Motorists are looking to dealers for information on switching from ICE to electric vehicles. That’s a key finding of the latest Future of Transport report from Lex Autolease.
The bi-annual report found that a third (28%) expect the government to provide better information on switching to electric, while 21% look to dealerships 18% to manufacturers, 4% to leasing providers and 4% to employers.
Dealers have been working to educate consumers through the EVA scheme which was launched by the NFDA in 2019.
It said the government’s decision to delay the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars – known as the ZEV Mandate – from 2030 to 2035 has not had a net negative impact on drivers’ appetite for EVs.
Almost a third (29%) say they are now more likely to switch to electric, while 20% say they are less likely and 51% have not changed their plans.
But they believe more needs to be done to encourage adoption. Just over two thirds (69%) think the government could be doing more, primarily through measures to reduce vehicle cost (46%), boost charging point availability (45%) and improve the availability of on-road charging infrastructure at home. Looking at specific policies, drivers unsurprisingly favour encouragement over punishment.
The most popular demands are for grants for the installation of charging infrastructure at home (41%), increased investment in public charging infrastructure (41%) and more investment in on-road charging infrastructure for home charging (37%).
More punitive policies were less popular, which include increasing the number of Clean Air Zones across the UK (13%), bringing forward the ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars (12%) and introducing a fuel tax on petrol and diesel vehicles (12%).