What do people want from EV charging infrastructure?
Are the public ready for EVs?
In our recent research only 12% of all respondents (incl 12% petrol drivers and 16% of diesel drivers) said they were confident they would be driving an EV within the next five years.
However, 52% (53% of petrol and diesel vehicle drivers) said more parking spaces should have EV charging points, and this varied little according to region. This seems to reflect support for the transition even amongst those who don’t expect to make the shift imminently.
One interpretation – which is supported by other studies – is that people want to switch but are waiting for adequate infrastructure before they commit.
Part of this is access to sufficient charging. This could always move faster but there generally seems to be a real commitment to this amongst Local Authorities.
But beyond pure numbers, user experience matters too in supporting people to make the switch.
Existing EV chargepoint payment schemes are seen as too cumbersome. 66% of EV drivers said current payment schemes were too complicated (although the proportion of EV driving respondents was low, so results should be interpreted with caution).
However, 64% of all respondents (and 94% of EV drivers!) said there should be an on-the-spot payment option for EV charging (ie no sign up to charging schemes) and 42% said there should be an option to pay with cash. As well as at chargepoints, these could be delivered through new or retrofitted smart parking terminals.
More needs to be done to encourage people to switch to an EV and assure people that the switch will be smooth. Part of this will be ensuring accessible, easy to use charge points for all. Our research shows that on-the-spot payment options, including cash will be critical.
Read our full report: Parking and EV charging that works for everyone
About the research
Our total cohort for this research was 2,085 respondents of whom 67% were petrol or diesel drivers, 2% electric, 4% hybrid, and 25% non-drivers. Then remaining ~2% were split between rarer options including hydrogen and biofuels.
