Skip to main content

A third of Brits willing to pay more to purchase electric cars

Over a third of the British public would be willing to pay more for a fully electric car than a petrol or diesel vehicle, said Baringa Partners. However, the business consultancy’s latest report also highlighted 35% of respondents think these vehicles are worse value for money. Called Is the UK ready for electric cars?, the document revealed 68% of respondents are willing to pay more for an electric car for its environmental benefits. Meanwhile, nearly half based their decision on the belief that electri
June 5, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
Over a third of the British public would be willing to pay more for a fully electric car than a petrol or diesel vehicle, said Baringa Partners. However, the business consultancy’s latest report also highlighted 35% of respondents think these vehicles are worse value for money.


Called Is the UK ready for electric cars?, the document revealed 68% of respondents are willing to pay more for an electric car for its environmental benefits. Meanwhile, nearly half based their decision on the belief that electric cars are cheaper to run in the long term.

However, participants are only willing to pay a little extra with less than a fifth willing to spend up to 5% more for an electric car. Meanwhile, 13% of drivers are willing to pay an additional 10% for their next purchase.  

Baringa warns different driving habits can lead to a difference in the total cost of electric cars. Fleet buyers are set to save more fuel on fully electric models as the lower operating costs can make them equal to conventional vehicles. However, private buyers are not likely to see parity until the mid-2020s when electric car prices are expected to fall.

Oliver Rix, partner in energy and resources at Baringa Partners says the additional money people are willing to spend is unlikely to increase uptake significantly in the short-term.

“Therefore, the government needs to ensure grants for electric cars continue to be offered until prices fall more in line with their petrol and diesel counterparts.”

Rix also recommends car manufacturers should highlight the wider financial benefits of owning an electric car, such as the tax and fuel savings and promote cheaper models available.

City spotlights showed 41% of Londoners are likely to consider buying a fully electric car for their next purchase. This figure is followed by residents in Cardiff (37%), Glasgow (33%), Bristol (24%), Brighton (21%) and Nottingham (10%).

A full copy of the report is available on the %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external website false https://www.baringa.com/getmedia/81a8c49b-cb7a-4e23-9f94-0f475f3222ee/Is-the-UK-ready-for-Electric-Cars-FINAL-WEB/ false false%>.

Related Content

  • December 2, 2016
    ETI seeks partners for commercial deployment of marine vessel technology modelling system
    The Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) is seeking partners for a project which will develop a tool to provide accurate and transparent data on the performance of different types of vessels for use by stakeholders involved in the shipping industry. One of the major challenges of reducing carbon emissions from the shipping industry is convincing vessel financiers to invest in technologies that will make existing and future vessels more fuel efficient. Although a number of fuel efficient technologies already
  • October 23, 2012
    Streetline heads for first European deployment of smart parking technology
    Streetline’s smart parking technology, which is already well established in the US in cities such as Los Angeles, Indianapolis and Washington, DC, is about to achieve its first European deployment, in the German city of Braunschweig. This follows the announcement earlier this year that Streetline and Siemens had entered into a strategic partnership to offer integrated parking solutions to municipalities around the globe. Streetline’s sensor technology sits in the road surface and provides real-time informat
  • February 26, 2014
    EU awards finalists announced
    The European Commission has announced the six finalists of two awards which honour the actions of European cities in developing and promoting sustainable approaches to urban mobility. This year’s Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) award recognises cities with SUMPs illustrating the ‘integration of economic, social, and environmental policy criteria’, the theme of the 2013 awards. The award is presented to local authorities which demonstrate excellence in developing and implementing their sustainable
  • October 26, 2017
    FSB responds to RAC Foundation figures on 8 million local authority parking penalties issued in UK
    The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has responded to a report from the RAC Foundation which showed that 8 million local authority parking penalties are issued annually across England and Wales. This figure is included in the Automated Road Traffic Enforcement: Regulation, Governance and Use - for the RAC Foundation report by Dr Adam Snow, a lecturer in criminology at Liverpool Hope University.