Motorists in seven parts of the UK have appeared to throw their support behind petrol and diesel vehicles as locals turn their backs on EV demand, with an expert calling out Chancellor Rachel Reeves. A new survey by motoring experts AutoTrader has revealed that 31.2% of road users across the UK have viewed at least one electric car advert in the past 90 days.
The information could suggest that as may as one third of road users are open to the idea of making the switch to new electric models. However this was not the case for everywhere, with interest in EVs said to be lowest in Wick, Scotland, with only 21.4% of customers seeking out electric cars.
Motorists in the Scottish regions of Inverness, Dumfries, Tweeddale and Perth were also found to turn their backs on EVs. Meanwhile, customers looking for cars in Truro and Dorchester in the South West were also less than impressed, still mostly backing petrol and diesel models.
According to the data, less than 27% of customers in these areas had recently looked up an EV at all. Petrol and diesel cars have a lot of incentives at this stage, with lower initial cost and affordability among the prime concerns.
Road users can get their hands on a decent second hand combustion model for £5,000 with the cheapest used EVs still as much as £10,000 plus. Ian Plummer, chief customer officer at Autotrader, refused to believe that a “lack of appetite" for cleaner models was behind the data.
Instead, he explained that “structural challenges” were likely a factor and even aimed the finger at Racjhel Reeves. He called on the Government to offer electric car discounts on used cars, instead of only reducing costs for brand new models.
Ian also predicted that Rachel Reeves's decision to introduce a new pay-per-mile charge on electric vehicles risked "delaying the UK's transition”.
Ian explained: "We're seeing notably lower levels of EV interest in regions like the South West and Scotland, which reflects deeper structural challenges rather than a lack of appetite for cleaner transport.
“These areas have more rural communities and longer average driving distances, all of which make switching to electric feel riskier and less practical for drivers even though that's not necessarily the case. Both regions have more rapid chargers per head than the UK overall."