More than half of van owners say they are discouraged from switching to an electric van due to a lack of charge point infrastructure, according to new research.
Published today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the Savanta ComRes survey found that 57% of people who own or lease a van in the UK are worried that they wouldn’t be able to find a public charging point when they need it.
The vast majority (88%) of the 500 van owners polled say they would go electric by 2035. However, a fifth of these owners say they will defer the decision for three to seven years.
The SMMT argues that overcoming this reticence is critical and one important way of doing this is to improve EV infrastructure. Nearly 60% of those who took part in the poll said they might be convinced to buy an EV sooner if there was a greater number of public charging points.
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: ‘Britain’s businesses run on vans and if we’re to deliver the nation’s carbon emission cuts, we need them to move to electric.
‘There’s an electric van to suit every business case, but we need a “van plan” to ensure zero-emission driving works for the millions of people for whom their van is their livelihood and the millions more who rely on these workhorses for the delivery of their daily needs.’
‘The automotive industry is getting these new technology vehicles into the showrooms – we need Government and other stakeholders to match our commitments to get them out on the road.’
