Electric vehicle adoption is a confidence game

By Ian Morris, Corporate

The Department for Transport and the Office for Low Emission Vehicles have jointly published a new report today: Driving and accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles in the UK. Coinciding with the very first World EV Day, the report sets out a range of policy measures to address the main barriers to the adoption of electric vehicles in the UK. 

Getting over these obstacles matters; in 2018, transport accounted for 28% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the UK, so driving EV adoption is a hugely important part of the government’s plans to create a carbon-neutral economy by 2050. 

Achieving this will require many things, including continued technological advancement of battery performance; effective solutions to the many challenges of charging infrastructure, particularly in rural locations and outside housing with no off-road parking; and reduced upfront costs.

But what is also clear from the new report is that it will require a lot of clear communication. The report identifies five key objectives to drive the adoption of EVs.

The first is ensuring consumers and fleets have adequate awareness and knowledge of EVs, including how and where to charge, what the costs are and understanding what a switch to electric would mean for their daily routine, with clear comparisons to internal combustion engine vehicles. The report mentions the importance of identifying the most effective messengers, suggesting school children as one such example, both as future drivers and consumers and influential messengers to their parents. 

Some within the EV ecosystem are already doing this effectively – during lockdown, for example, electric charging company EO Charging started up the EO Academy, providing free online lessons aimed at children on electric cars, the energy that powers them and our exciting future.

Financial factors also have a significant impact on EV adoption. One of the communication challenges here is getting over consumer focus on upfront costs, in favour of a greater focus on the lifetime costs of owning an EV. But a similar challenge also exists for the business market – clear financial incentives from the government to incentivise fleet owners to invest in EV fleets could send a clear message about its commitment, reassuring fleet owners and in turn, manufacturers.

Providing easy access to charging infrastructure is another key objective. The report notes that both actual and perceivedcharging availability are key, as consumers may mistakenly be put off by a lack of on-the-go charging when in reality they might be able to complete the majority of their journeys by charging at home. Again, this comes down to the clear communication of information that can be personalised to each individual’s circumstances.

Building confidence in vehicle capability and experience is another factor. One of the solutions put forward by the report is to encourage wider uptake of the government-endorsed accreditation programme for dealers, recognising the significant influence that salespeople have over consumer choice – again recognising that messages need to be delivered by the most appropriate messengers.

The fifth objective is to make EV ownership desirable, driving positive attitudes towards EVs – clearly a communications challenge in itself.

The growth of EV adoption depends in many ways on instilling confidence. Consumers need the confidence to switch to technology they have no experience of and which requires completely different habits to their existing routine. They need confidence in the availability of charging infrastructure. Fleet owners, manufacturers and companies in the supply chain need confidence in the government’s political commitment to EV in order to continue investing.  Investors need confidence in all these things to believe the market will grow to its potential.

In some ways, the government is doing this. Proposed plans to ban the sale of new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars by 2035 demonstrates a clear commitment, for example, but this alone will not be enough. To drive faster growth in this vital market, a clear and widespread communications strategy, led by government but with close industry and stakeholder cooperation, will be key.