YouGov survey shows level of misinformation to car owners
Discussion
'The results of a YouGov survey show the level of misinformation being plied to car owners. The statements covered costs of owning and running an EV, charging, the natural resources needed to build and run an EV and even the likelihood of a fire.' For example:
•Nearly two-thirds (62%) of petrol drivers believe it’s more expensive to own and run an EV, with only 14% correctly recognising that EVs are typically cheaper. A report from ECIU found that the drivers of the top 10 selling petrol cars of 2023 can find themselves paying a petrol premium of £700 a year in running costs, compared to an equivalent electric car.
[4]
•41% of petrol drivers incorrectly think that EVs are more likely to catch fire than petrol cars, with only 24% correct in their understanding that they are less likely to catch fire. Evidence from EV Fire Safe indicated that EVs are more than 80 times less likely to catch fire than petrol or diesel cars.
[5]
•More than half (59%) of petrol drivers thought the UK’s electricity grid “will not be able to cope” with the UK’s shift to EVs, whereas only one in five (20%) correctly identified this statement as false. The National Grid has explicitly labelled this a ‘myth’ and is clear that the power system will be able to cope with millions more EVs in the UK [6].
•80% of petrol drivers think the UK is not on course to install the charging infrastructure it needs, despite the country being ahead of schedule to hit its target of 300,000 chargers on the UK’s roads by 2030.
[7]
•More drivers (35%) incorrectly believed that an EV’s lifetime CO2 emissions are no less than those of a petrol car than correctly identified this statement as false (32%). An EV being driven in the UK produces three times less lifetime CO2 emissions that an equivalent petrol or diesel car.
[8]
Where more petrol car drivers got the answer right than wrong was around energy independence where 37% recognized that more EVs running on British renewable electricity would make the UK more energy independent than relying on increasing imports of oil and petrol. 29% agreed with the incorrect statement that EVs would weaken the UK’s energy independence.
54% correctly disagreed with the statement that EVs are not better for urban air quality than petrol cars. Only 28% believed this statement to be true.
More petrol drivers (39%) correctly disagreed with the statement that EVs pose a threat to the structural integrity of the UK’s car parks than incorrectly agreed with it (33%).
There’s a lot of re-education to be done but we face a huge lobby group who would prefer we believe the misinformation.'
https://x.com/AndyatAuto/status/186498279526261147...
•Nearly two-thirds (62%) of petrol drivers believe it’s more expensive to own and run an EV, with only 14% correctly recognising that EVs are typically cheaper. A report from ECIU found that the drivers of the top 10 selling petrol cars of 2023 can find themselves paying a petrol premium of £700 a year in running costs, compared to an equivalent electric car.
[4]
•41% of petrol drivers incorrectly think that EVs are more likely to catch fire than petrol cars, with only 24% correct in their understanding that they are less likely to catch fire. Evidence from EV Fire Safe indicated that EVs are more than 80 times less likely to catch fire than petrol or diesel cars.
[5]
•More than half (59%) of petrol drivers thought the UK’s electricity grid “will not be able to cope” with the UK’s shift to EVs, whereas only one in five (20%) correctly identified this statement as false. The National Grid has explicitly labelled this a ‘myth’ and is clear that the power system will be able to cope with millions more EVs in the UK [6].
•80% of petrol drivers think the UK is not on course to install the charging infrastructure it needs, despite the country being ahead of schedule to hit its target of 300,000 chargers on the UK’s roads by 2030.
[7]
•More drivers (35%) incorrectly believed that an EV’s lifetime CO2 emissions are no less than those of a petrol car than correctly identified this statement as false (32%). An EV being driven in the UK produces three times less lifetime CO2 emissions that an equivalent petrol or diesel car.
[8]
Where more petrol car drivers got the answer right than wrong was around energy independence where 37% recognized that more EVs running on British renewable electricity would make the UK more energy independent than relying on increasing imports of oil and petrol. 29% agreed with the incorrect statement that EVs would weaken the UK’s energy independence.
54% correctly disagreed with the statement that EVs are not better for urban air quality than petrol cars. Only 28% believed this statement to be true.
More petrol drivers (39%) correctly disagreed with the statement that EVs pose a threat to the structural integrity of the UK’s car parks than incorrectly agreed with it (33%).
There’s a lot of re-education to be done but we face a huge lobby group who would prefer we believe the misinformation.'
https://x.com/AndyatAuto/status/186498279526261147...
Terminator X said:
How about catastrophic depreciation that destroys all and any savings?
TX.
Stupid argument is stupid. Most first “owners” are getting these as salary sacrifices, leases or outright company cars.TX.
The depreciation makes them even more likely to save the second owner money.
TX.
James6112 said:
As the survey proves, reinforced by some posters, there is a lot of ignorance out there.
I guess easily led by ‘news’ clickbait sites /jealously/lack of knowledge.
Absolutely easier just to force EVs on them. Not a decision to trust the public with. I guess easily led by ‘news’ clickbait sites /jealously/lack of knowledge.
If the method is too obvious and they start to question it, just be more subtle. Can’t touch fuel duty, raise road taxes by more for ICE cars, maybe tax first registration even more, cut BIK for EVs… oh wait. Eventually after all the pearl clutching… money talks
The major cost of owning and driving a new or nearly-new car is usually depreciation/finance/leasing.
So many people are obsessed with a few p per mile on fuel, when they're paying £400 a month for a 8000 miles per year deal.
For many people doing low to average mileage, the cheapest total cost for a new car is often something like a petrol Fiat?
If you buy used, for cash, I think there's a point in the market where a decent used EV can be a good deal, like maybe a 2 year old MG electric, if you do over 10k miles a year and write it down to 'small change' over the remainder of the warranty period.
So many people are incapable of doing the maths for themselves for their own circumstances.
So many people are obsessed with a few p per mile on fuel, when they're paying £400 a month for a 8000 miles per year deal.
For many people doing low to average mileage, the cheapest total cost for a new car is often something like a petrol Fiat?
If you buy used, for cash, I think there's a point in the market where a decent used EV can be a good deal, like maybe a 2 year old MG electric, if you do over 10k miles a year and write it down to 'small change' over the remainder of the warranty period.
So many people are incapable of doing the maths for themselves for their own circumstances.
Why do EV owners find it necessary to post threads defending their decisions to own or use an EV.To try and prove the ignorance of ICE car owners . To try and display the benefits of EV's. Why has it become so hostile and combative .
It's personal choice right now and when it's not and the choice is taken away from us , then I guess we will all get one .
Meanwhile there seems to be a spiraling adoption of two camps that appear to be hostile to each other .
I personally think it's a self preservation behaviour, as we won't have a choice soon and for some of us that's a withdrawal of free will and we don't like it . Hence the aggression and distain .
I have both and I am not fighting with myself .
It's personal choice right now and when it's not and the choice is taken away from us , then I guess we will all get one .
Meanwhile there seems to be a spiraling adoption of two camps that appear to be hostile to each other .
I personally think it's a self preservation behaviour, as we won't have a choice soon and for some of us that's a withdrawal of free will and we don't like it . Hence the aggression and distain .
I have both and I am not fighting with myself .
cliffords said:
Why do EV owners find it necessary to post threads defending their decisions to own or use an EV.To try and prove the ignorance of ICE car owners . To try and display the benefits of EV's. Why has it become so hostile and combative .
It's personal choice right now and when it's not and the choice is taken away from us , then I guess we will all get one .
Meanwhile there seems to be a spiraling adoption of two camps that appear to be hostile to each other .
I personally think it's a self preservation behaviour, as we won't have a choice soon and for some of us that's a withdrawal of free will and we don't like it . Hence the aggression and distain .
I have both and I am not fighting with myself .
I have not seen many or in fact any posts on this subforum that are threads started purely on the basis of I bought an EV and then going onto to say that anyone who has not is stupid. It's personal choice right now and when it's not and the choice is taken away from us , then I guess we will all get one .
Meanwhile there seems to be a spiraling adoption of two camps that appear to be hostile to each other .
I personally think it's a self preservation behaviour, as we won't have a choice soon and for some of us that's a withdrawal of free will and we don't like it . Hence the aggression and distain .
I have both and I am not fighting with myself .
What occurs time and time again however is posters who have no intention of buying an EV and who seem to regard EVs as some sort of work of the devil, feeling the need to come into the subforum entitled EVs and Alternative Fuels and post stuff that makes them look stupid. The very first response on this thread is from one of the worst offenders. Even worse they seem to do this time and time again - EVs seem to trigger some posters into an anti-EV frenzy. Perhaps a more pertinent and relevant question to ask is why certain anti EV posters feel the need to do this when they have no interest in EVs
Edited by Mahalo on Monday 9th December 05:42
Edited by Mahalo on Monday 9th December 05:46
Mahalo said:
I have not seen many or in fact any posts on this subforum that are threads started purely on the basis of I bought an EV and then going onto to say that anyone who has not is stupid.
What occurs time and time again however is posters who have no intention of buying an EV and who seem to regard EVs as some sort of work of the devil, feeling the need to come into the subforum entitled EVs and Alternative Fuels and post stuff that makes them look stupid. The very first response on this thread is from one of the worst offenders. Even worse they seem to do this time and time again - EVs seem to trigger some posters into an anti-EV frenzy. Perhaps a more pertinent and relevant question to ask is why certain anti EV posters feel the need to do this when they have no interest in EVs
This.What occurs time and time again however is posters who have no intention of buying an EV and who seem to regard EVs as some sort of work of the devil, feeling the need to come into the subforum entitled EVs and Alternative Fuels and post stuff that makes them look stupid. The very first response on this thread is from one of the worst offenders. Even worse they seem to do this time and time again - EVs seem to trigger some posters into an anti-EV frenzy. Perhaps a more pertinent and relevant question to ask is why certain anti EV posters feel the need to do this when they have no interest in EVs
Edited by Mahalo on Monday 9th December 05:42
Edited by Mahalo on Monday 9th December 05:46
If it has anything to do with self preservation or whatever, these people need to grow up and put their big boy pants on.
Every PH review of an EV on General Gassing gets the same posters and same nonsense.
I've ICE and EV, so am unbiased but definitely find there is infinitely more anti EV than the other way round. We're past early adoption but EV owners generally don't need to justify their purchases as they've already sufficient critical thinking to have chosen an alternative method of propulsion.
The odd thing is that I'd never been preached to by an EV owner before buying one. However I still get preached to now by ICE owners. Totally unsolicited too. Only this weekend I had dinner with a friend, who I thought was intelligent, but she proceeded to tell me that EV wasn't the future, how she'd buy hydrogen instead and yada yada yada.
I don't think it's really anything to do with EVs, or even consumer products. It's just a feature of a media landscape where everyone seems to have an ulterior motive in what they report and it's increasingly hard to sort the truth from the lies, mostly because the lies are so much more prevalent.
Very few people have the knowledge, time or interest to sit down and work out which information comes from peer reviewed scientific papers and which comes from crackpot conspiracy theories.
Very few people have the knowledge, time or interest to sit down and work out which information comes from peer reviewed scientific papers and which comes from crackpot conspiracy theories.
Zero Fuchs said:
The odd thing is that I'd never been preached to by an EV owner before buying one. However I still get preached to now by ICE owners. Totally unsolicited too. Only this weekend I had dinner with a friend, who I thought was intelligent, but she proceeded to tell me that EV wasn't the future, how she'd buy hydrogen instead and yada yada yada.
Ditto. We recently switched our family car from an ICE to an EV. While we had the ICE, I never once had an EV owner suggest unsolicited that I switch to an EV, since we've had an EV I've several times had ICE owning friends come up to me and tell me I was wrong to buy it; almost always followed by a string of completely false reasons why. Gassing Station | EV and Alternative Fuels | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff