Mileage Concerns Holding Motorists Back From Going Electric
| A fear of running out of power while driving an electric vehicle is one of the main factors holding motorists back from replacing their petrol or diesel powered car, recent research from the AA has found. In response to a survey of over 3,000 motorists undertaken by AA Rescue, 48.41% of respondents agreed that concerns about the current effective driving range of most electric vehicles meant they were unlikely to consider purchasing an EV. The survey also found that 12.46% of those surveyed identified a lack of EV charging points on routes across the country as a contributing factor to their reluctance to purchase an electric vehicle. “In a relatively short space of time, electric vehicles have undergone their own version of the kind of evolution we have seen with mobile phones. When the technology first emerged, we were talking about cars with very limited mileage range and a real lack of supporting infrastructure in Ireland. However, with the modern EV, the effective mileage range is, broadly speaking, more than enough to meet the driving needs of a typical Irish motorist,” Conor Faughnan, AA Director of Consumer Affairs stated. “While we may not yet be at the stage of having an affordable EV which could get you from one end of Ireland to the other and back on a single charge, for your average driver who uses their car to commute from home to work or down to the shops an electric vehicle is a perfectly suitable option.” “For the exceptionally rare occasions when an electric vehicle does run out of charge, our AA Rescue team recently acquired two mobile charging units to help get affected motorists back on the road and provide enough charge for them to drive to their nearest charging point. However, if we are to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, then a broader plan to invest in electric car charging points across the country is needed.” Despite the concerns outlined by motorists, the survey also found broad support for government investment in electric vehicle infrastructure. 40.38% of respondents to the AA’s survey ‘strongly agreed’ that investing in charging points and technology to encourage EV use in Ireland should be among the government’s main transport priorities for the year ahead, with a further 32.70% indicating that they ‘somewhat agreed’ with this message. Support for increased investment in electric vehicle infrastructure was strongest among those aged between 45 and 55, with almost half of respondents in this age bracket (47.10%) indicating strong levels of support for such action. “If we are to meet our climate change obligations then something needs to be done to reduce our reliance on fossil fuel powered vehicles, particularly in rural areas where public transport has been woefully underfunded for many years.” Faughnan added. “Electric vehicles are very much the future of motoring but we need to look at ways of making them a larger part of the present as well. In order to achieve this, we need to address the concerns motorists have about this technology and increasing the availability of charging points will go a long way towards achieving that.”ReplyForward |