Click the thumbs up >Motorists in the UK are aiming to budget for a £20,000 list price before making the switch to an electric vehicle, according to research conducted by Deloitte – highlighting an affordability void.
Deloitte’s latest Global Automotive Consumer Survey found that 42% of car buyers were aiming to spend the sum, which significantly undercuts the average price currently paid for a new vehicle with an internal combustion engine (ICE).
The survey – which polled 1,500 people – did seek to highlight the finance options that make EVs affordable.
However, it also showed that 27% of drivers aged 18-to-34 had requested a payment deferral on car financing in 2020, suggesting that younger drivers who may be seen as early adopters of new technology could have had purchasing decisions stalled by COVID-19.
Local councils are planning to install just 9,317 public charge points for electric cars between now and 2025, which threatens to cause a huge bottleneck in adoption to plug-in vehicles in the coming years.
An average of 35 chargers per local authority are due to be provided in the next four years with 126 councils currently having no plans to fit any at all, despite the Government making available funds for the installation of 3,600 devices in the next year.
Experts have warned that the serious lack of investment in local infrastructure means it will severely fall behind demand for plug-in cars and will ultimately strangle minsters efforts to convince drivers to switch to electric cars ahead of the ban on sale of new petrol and diesel motors from 2030.