Our annual driver survey: What UK drivers think

Our annual survey of UK drivers on EVs, charging, and the road ahead.

EVA England’s annual survey gives drivers a direct voice on what it’s really like to own, charge and consider an electric car.

First launched in 2021, it started as a way to give electric vehicle drivers a voice in the Public Charge Point Regulations. Each year, thousands of drivers take part, helping us build a picture of how the EV transition is working for drivers, where it’s falling short, and what’s needed to make switching easier. We share our findings with government, industry, and the public to drive meaningful change.

Since 2025, the survey has been open to all drivers – whether they drive electric, hybrid, petrol, or diesel – because understanding the views of every motorist is key to accelerating the switch to electric.

Steer the Conversation: our 2026 survey report

The 2026 edition, delivered in partnership with EVA Cymru, EVANI and EVA Scotland, was our biggest driver survey to date. With 2,635 responses from across the EV and non-EV driving community, it sends a clear message to Government and industry that electric cars are delivering on their promise of cheaper motoring. But the benefits aren’t shared equally: 84% of drivers who can charge at home report substantially lower running costs, compared with just 32% of those who can’t.

There’s also strong appetite to switch, with almost half of petrol and diesel drivers surveyed saying they would be likely to go electric if key barriers were removed.

Read the full report

Our 2026 findings:

Driver confidence
Affordability, trust and unlocking demand
The charging divide
Public charging experience
What we’re asking for

Driver confidence

EV drivers remain strongly content with their cars and are not looking back:

93% plan to stick with an EV for their next car.
93% are likely or very likely to recommend an EV to friends or family.

But confidence in the wider transition is under pressure:

71% say the public debate around EVs does not reflect their lived experience as an EV driver.
38% say recent Government announcements and policy changes, notably the proposed pay-per-mile scheme (eVED) and the debate over the ZEV mandate, have reduced their confidence in owning an EV. Only 5% say their confidence has increased.
A third of hybrid drivers and a quarter of petrol and diesel drivers cite uncertainty over future taxation as a primary factor stopping them buying electric.

Interest in switching has fallen. In 2025, 66% of petrol and diesel drivers said they had considered getting an EV. This year that figure is down to 47%.

Yet the demand is there. 49% of petrol and diesel drivers, 66% of hybrid drivers and 76% of plug-in hybrid drivers say they would switch to an electric car if the main barriers holding them back, such as upfront cost and access to charging, were addressed.

Dealership experience is largely unchanged since last year. 24% of EV drivers rated their handover as fair and 12% as poor or very poor.

“They know how to sell cars, but not about EVs or EV ownership.”

Affordability, trust and unlocking demand

Electric cars are delivering on their promise of cheaper motoring: 94% of EV drivers report lower running costs than their previous petrol or diesel car.

“When I had a petrol car it would cost me about £75 a month in petrol. Now it’s probably around £25.”

But upfront cost remains a major hurdle:

More than half (52%) of EV drivers paid more for their car than a comparable petrol or diesel model; only 10% paid less.
41% of petrol and diesel drivers cite purchase cost as a key barrier to switching.
Only 29% of EV drivers responding are on household incomes below £49,999, compared with around 75% of UK households.

“Great to drive, cheap to run. But we won’t be able to buy for a while because the upfront cost is too high.”

The used market is lagging. 65% of EV drivers acquired their car new, compared with 31% of petrol and diesel drivers. Used EVs are becoming more affordable, yet around 40% of petrol, diesel and hybrid drivers cite range or battery concerns as a main barrier, making a UK battery health standard more urgent than ever.

The charging divide and the two-tier transition

EV ownership still depends heavily on home charging. 88% of EV drivers responding can charge from their own electricity supply, and 95% said home charging was essential or important to their decision to switch.

For those who can’t, the savings shrink. Among EV drivers without off-street parking, the share reporting much lower running costs has fallen from 50% last year to 32%, compared with 84% of those who can charge at home.

42% of EV drivers say public charging costs have gone up for them over the past year.
64% of petrol and diesel drivers without off-street parking say access to home charging is stopping them from switching.
Only 1% of EV drivers are using a cross-pavement charging solution, while 2% are running cables across the pavement themselves.

“Public charging is extremely expensive compared to home charging. I cannot home charge so have NO option but to pay up to 15 times more! Very unfair!”

Public Charging Experience

The public network is growing, but drivers are less positive about the experience:

48% of EV drivers say public charging has improved in the past year, down from 69% in 2025.
Nearly one in four say public chargepoints aren’t usually in good working order.
49% find charging prices confusing and not transparent.
Among drivers who had a problem at a public chargepoint, 44% either didn’t know how to report it, couldn’t get through to the operator, or got no response

Accessibility remains a real issue, with damage and lack of maintenance (32%), distance from the unit to the vehicle (23%), cable weight (16%) and screen or payment terminal height (16%) the top concerns.

“Public charging is not reliable, we always have a plan B as our desired charge point could be in use, broken, or blocked.”

What we’re asking for

Our survey shows that the asks in our June 2026 white paper, Putting the Driver First, not only still stand, but are becoming more urgent. This is an opportunity for policymakers, regulators and industry to listen to what drivers are saying, and act on it.

Improve driver confidence in EVs
- No further changes to the ZEV mandate targets, and a delay to eVED until at least 2030, with a redesign that works for drivers from day one.
- Better EV knowledge at the point of sale through dealer training such as EV Retail Ready and the NFDA’s Electric Vehicle Approved scheme.
Improve affordability and trust, and unlock demand
- Retarget the Electric Car Grant towards a UK social leasing scheme for lower and middle-income households.
- Extend favourable benefit-in-kind rates for EVs to 2035, and accelerate a UK battery health standard.
Deliver a plan to address the charging divide
- Publish the outcomes of the Cost of Public Charging Review urgently, with reform that brings public charging prices closer to home charging.
- Equalise VAT on public and home charging, and back cross-pavement and charger-sharing solutions.
Deliver significant improvements in the public charging experience
- Appoint an independent Public Chargepoint Regulator, with a consumer complaints service and Ombudsman.
- Review the AEV Act 2018 and Public Charge Point Regulations 2023 so they deliver a minimum level of service for drivers.

Read the full set of recommendations in our survey report.

Want your MP to hear these findings? Take 2 minutes to write to them.

Interested in viewing previous iterations of our annual survey report?

You can find them here:

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A fair transition must work for everyone.

At EVA England, we’re working to make sure every driver, no matter where they live, can access affordable and reliable charging.

If you would like to support our work and help strengthen our advocacy for fair and accessible charging, you can get involved by becoming a member, a supporting partner or donating directly to EVA England.

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