What would make YOU switch to an electric car? Take our poll and have your say
If you haven't already, what would it take for YOU to finally ditch the traditional petrol/diesel vehicle and join the growing number of electric car users?
Whether we like it or not, the days of the internal combustion engine are numbered, with sales slowly but surely declining since 2014 - while electric cars have only been going up.
And this will only be compounded by the time 2030 rolls around, as that's when the UK government will ban new petrol and diesel vehicles, with a caveat of plug-in hybrid cars with a 'significant zero emission capability' able to be sold until 2035.
Yet the number of UK drivers currently pootling around in an electric vehicle is still rather small - making up only 3.1 per cent of the total number of cars on the road in 2021, according to a study by DriveElectric.
But why are we as a nation so slow in making the change?
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On the face of it, all things point towards electric being the sensible choice.
For starters, research shows electric cars are far better for the environment.
They emit fewer greenhouse gases and air pollutants than traditional petrol or diesel cars - even after taking into account manufacturing emissions and the electricity generated to keep them running, says EDF.
Generally, people are very slow to change their habits, but we're interested to know why, if you haven't already, made the jump to electric motoring?
Could it be a lack of readily accessible charging ports across the country? Worries over how long the battery will last on a journey? Electric cars being too expensive?
Whatever your reasons, we'd love to hear from you. Take our poll below and tell us your number one reason for not yet going electric. You can expand on your decision in the comments below.
If you can't see the poll, click
Experts at DriveElectric predict that electric cars will overtake petrol and diesel by 2025 in the UK car market.
Researchers looked into the number of first-time registrations of diesel, petrol, and other vehicles in the UK from 2014 to 2021, to reveal how much internal combustion engine (ICE) car sales have tailed off.
The figures showed that registrations of diesel cars dipped by a massive 47 per cent between 2021 and 2022.
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Petrol cars saw a smaller drop of 17.7 percent in the same period, but electric vehicles are seeing an inexorable rise.
While only 3.1 per cent of the total number of cars on the road in 2021 were electric, that figure will almost double to six per cent by 2025, say experts.
And by 2030 the amount is expected to reach 19 per cent - with a whopping 6.4 million electric vehicles (EVs) on British roads.
Analysing year-on-year data from 2021 to 2022, the study also ranked the number of EV and ICE registrations in order of their percentage difference.
There were 92,420 registrations of battery electric vehicles in 2021, and that figure increased to 137,498 in 2022.
This means that there has been a 48.8 per cent increase in the registrations of battery electric vehicles in that year alone.
Hybrid electric vehicles took second place with an 18.9 per cent increase in registrations between 2021 and 2022.
In 2021, 95,322 hybrid electric cars were registered with the figure increasing to 113,339 in 2022.
Completing the top three are mild hybrid electric vehicles with a 0.1 per cent decline in the same period.
There were some 132,450 registrations of mild hybrid EVs in 2021 with the figure decreasing to 132,292 in 2022.
According to the experts, registrations of electric cars will continue to steadily grow.
Data shows that in December 2022 alone more than 40,000 electric cars were registered.
This has resulted in a market share of 32.9 per cent when it comes to all new car registrations.
The 2021 census also revealed that drivers' attitudes toward EVs are changing.
When it comes to younger drivers, data shows that more than half of them are most likely to switch to an electric car in the next decade.
On top of that, some 44 per cent of all petrol, diesel, and hybrid owners are interested in switching to an EV in over the next ten years.
Experts at DriveElectric said: "The majority of consumer perceptions changing towards EVs majorly stem from environmental concerns.
"Preference for electric vehicles continues to grow as more than 50 percent of people planning to buy a car will choose either fully electric, plug-in hybrid, or hybrid vehicles.
"Electric vehicles will likely continue to become more prevalent in the coming years. It is projected that EVs could make up a total of 45 percent of global car sales by 2035.
"In contrast, sales of internal combustion engine (ICE) cars are expected to see a gradual decline as the market shifts towards EVs."
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