Two-fifths of motorists say we should all be planning to swap to electric vehicles (EVs). So, we wanted to find out how drivers’ knowledge and attitudes towards battery-powered cars will influence their next purchase.
We already ran the same survey in 2025, so we want to use this year’s data to track how attitudes towards EVs are changing. Having asked 2,000 UK car owners their views, this is what we found:
Do drivers think it's time to make the move to electric?
With half of motorists (50%) agreeing that EVs are the future, we wanted to find out who will be most likely to make the switch when it comes time to change their car.
We asked drivers if their next car would be an EV and found that drivers aged 25-34 were four times more likely than over-65s to be planning to make the switch:
| Age Group | Next car will be an EV |
| 18 – 24 | 18% |
| 25 – 34 | 28% |
| 35 – 44 | 24% |
| 45 – 54 | 11% |
| 55 – 64 | 5% |
| 65+ | 7% |
| Overall | 16% |
We found that motorists aged 25-34 were 42% more likely than the national average to feel their lifestyle would be conducive to owning an EV. In addition, they were 75% more likely to have the ability to charge an electric vehicle at home.
At the other end of the spectrum, car owners aged 55+ were 65% less likely to be planning to swap to an EV. Half of over 55s said they would continue buying petrol and diesel vehicles for as long as possible.
With 34.5 million licensed cars on the UK's roads, our research suggests that around 5.5 million of them will be replaced by an EV. Most of those EV purchases will be made by drivers aged under 45. *
Where will we see the biggest growth in EV ownership?
We found that motorists in London were 69% more likely than car owners nationally to plan to buy an EV for their next car.
London’s motorists were the most likely to feel that their lifestyle would be conducive to EV ownership. So, it’s unsurprising that the number planning to move to electric has increased by 8% since last year:
| City | 2025 | 2026 | % Change |
| Belfast | 18% | 11% | -7% |
| Birmingham | 11% | 12% | +1% |
| Bristol | 19% | 10% | -9% |
| Cardiff | 7% | 9% | +2% |
| Edinburgh | 8% | 10% | +2% |
| Glasgow | 10% | 15% | +5% |
| Leeds | 8% | 12% | +4% |
| Liverpool | 4% | 11% | +7% |
| London | 19% | 27% | +8% |
| Manchester | 10% | 16% | +6% |
| Newcastle | 16% | 12% | -4% |
| Norwich | 4% | 8% | +4% |
| Nottingham | 21% | 10% | -11% |
| Sheffield | 7% | 9% | +2% |
| Southampton | 10% | 14% | +4% |
Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow and Birmingham have also seen some of the biggest growth in motorists planning to switch to an electric car.
When looking specifically at these four cities, we found that:
- 45% of drivers in Manchester think we should all be planning to make the move to electric – the second highest after London (49%)
- A third of motorists in London (32%) reckon they could charge an EV at home – followed by Birmingham (29%)
- 71% of motorists in Liverpool have off-road parking making charging an EV easier – compared with 64% nationally
- 42% of drivers in Glasgow and Manchester believed the amount you would spend charging an EV is less than you would spend on fuel – only beaten by London at 44%
While they might not be ready to make the switch to an electric vehicle now, we found that motorists in Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle were the most likely to see themselves buying an EV in the future.
What is stopping motorists from making the switch?
Our research highlights a lack of trustworthy knowledge on EVs. This is impacting motorists' willingness to consider battery-powered cars:
- A third of UK car owners (33%) feel they don’t know enough about EVs
- A quarter of drivers (24%) find information about electric vehicles contradictory
- A fifth of motorists (19%) struggle to find accurate and impartial information about EVs
With just 6% of drivers feeling like they know everything they would need to about battery-powered cars, it’s unsurprising that many motorists have unfounded concerns when it comes to the reality of EV ownership:
- Only a third of petrol and diesel owners think charging an EV is more cost effective than filling up – compared with two-thirds of EV owners
- Petrol and diesel owners are 2.5 times more likely to worry about the lifespan of electric car batteries than those already driving a battery-powered car
- Only two-fifths of petrol and diesel drivers (41%) think EVs are well made and safe to drive, compared to over three-quarters of EV owners (76%)
It’s clear that many drivers still have unfounded concerns about EV ownership that aren’t reflected in the experiences of those already driving a battery-powered car.
How could drivers be incentivised to make the switch to electric?
When asked what the Government could do to encourage EV adoption, drivers said that financial incentives, policy changes and improvements to the charging infrastructure are needed.
The Government has introduced an electric car grant in July 2025 on a limited selection of brand-new models, but survey respondents indicate that more needs to be done. More than a third of car owners (34%) said that more financial incentives, such as enhanced tax credits and grants, should be offered to motorists looking to buy EVs. A similar number (36%) said the Government should offer financial support to homeowners who want to install a home charging point.
Other financial benefits that motorists would like to see include:
- Keeping EVs in a lower tax band (29%)
- Regulating the costs to charge an EV using a public charger (27%)
- Offering discounted insurance to EV drivers (21%)
Over two-fifths of motorists (43%) said the public charging network isn’t fit for purpose. Improving the UK’s public charging infrastructure was rated as the single most important factor to increasing EV adoption, with two-fifths of motorists agreeing with the statement. Looking at public charging regionally, drivers in Sheffield were the most likely to want improvements in the public charging infrastructure.
The cities that want to see improvements the most are:
| City | The government should improve the UK’s public charging infrastructure |
| Sheffield | 53% |
| Southampton | 49% |
| Nottingham | 47% |
| Bristol | 46% |
| Leeds | 45% |
| Liverpool | 44% |
| Glasgow | 42% |
| Newcastle | 38% |
| Manchester | 37% |
| Edinburgh | 36% |
| = London | 36% |
Is a lack of knowledge around EVs holding motorists back?
When asking car owners how they felt about their EV knowledge, we found there is still work to do. The data shows that a third of UK motorists (33%) don't feel they know enough about EVs, with a quarter (24%) finding information about EVs contradictory, and 19% struggling to find information they felt was accurate and impartial in 2026.
Interestingly, a higher number of drivers find EV information contradictory and struggle to find impartial information this year compared to 2025, showing that not enough is being done to help improve the average motorist’s EV knowledge.
A lack of resources for those wanting to learn more about EVs suggests a broader issue with misinformation, which could be why some car owners aren’t open to making the switch. Motorists reported it was harder to find accurate sources now compared to 12 months ago. This highlights a need for transparent, trustworthy information to help motorists decide whether now is the right time to make the switch.
Shop nearly new electric vehicles here.
Sources
Methodology
Comparisons within the report use two separate surveys of 2,000 UK motorists to allow us to accurately compare results year-on-year.
Survey 1:
Conducted by The Leadership Factor on behalf of Motorpoint with a sample of 2,000 UK car owners. Results were collected in January 2025. All statistics and findings have been rounded to the nearest whole number. A full data set is available on request.
Survey 2:
Conducted by The Leadership Factor on behalf of Motorpoint with a sample of 2,000 UK car owners in January 2026. All statistics and findings have been rounded to the nearest whole number. A full data set is available on request.
