Autovia Insights Quarterly

Introduction

Electric vehicles are the one bright spot in a car market beleaguered by fallout from a pandemic followed by the Ukraine war. In 2021 new car registrations remained 28.7% below pre-Covid levels, but more than one in nine of the 1.65 million cars sold was a battery-powered EV – and that number is growing exponentially. With just eight years to go before new internal combustion engined vehicles (ICE) are banned from sale in the UK, the pressure is on to convert every new registration to that of an EV. The critical factors influencing progress toward transforming Britain's roads to zero tailpipe emissions include: All of these affect the speed of adoption by influencing consumer confidence, enthusiasm or scepticism about making the switch.

What we're measuring and why

Autovia has established Britain's largest panel of car buyers and owners through its 'always on' Driver Power survey, which captures the experience and opinions of up to 60,000 people annually. Participants in Driver Power are typically drawn from a highly-engaged audience, which regularly interacts with the UK's most popular motoring information and insight brands within the Autovia group. These include, the UK’s biggest news and reviews website and biggest-selling weekly motoring magazine Auto Express, the comprehensive reviews and advice website Car Buyer, and highly authoritative niche expert titles such as Driving Electric, evo and Octane. This gives Autovia a unique insight into the hearts and minds of Britain's motorists providing unrivalled depth and breadth of insight into the attitudes of those consumers, who will ultimately drive the change to zero-tailpipe-emissions motoring. Several years of in-depth monitoring of car buyer behaviour and attitudes have already given Autovia a robust base of insight on which to build. Major recent investment in expanding Driver Power’s research and analysis toolset, along with behavioural analysis of those who consume content from its popular motoring brands has enabled Autovia to launch the definitive tracker to monitor conversion of Britain's approximately 30 million cars to electric. Along the way Autovia is discovering and sharing the many EV-related driver profiles that are emerging - ranging from diehard early adopters through to those who can be described as reluctant but 'EV-curious' and those drivers who remain strongly sceptical about the switch, plus people at many points in between. Autovia is closely monitoring attitudes to the different fuel types available in the current market and identifying how they relate to the ambition to convert Britain's car parc to electric. This will help the car industry to better predict who will become the next swathe of EV buyers and who may take longer to be persuaded. To better understand how tomorrow's roads may look, Autovia is also undertaking the most sophisticated in-depth dive into competing brand perceptions and to help manufacturers to understand the risks, opportunities, restrainers and features that will drive success when bringing new cars to market. A strong emotional component continues to feature in the typical car purchase journey and Autovia has its finger on the pulse of these buyers – what appeals most or least to them, how they approach the buying journey, their hopes and fears about the EV experience and how they may be influenced by external events.

hover to explore

Introduction

What we're measuring

Who buys EV's?

Autovia and Driver Power

Download Full Report

Adding to the challenge is a lack of clarity from Government in critical areas. For example, Hybrid engined vehicles will be available for sale until 2035 but no legal definitions yet exist for which hybrids will qualify to remain on sale up to that point. In this respect car makers and consumers are expected to plan ahead without a clear picture of government intention. Nothing illustrates the current legal uncertainties more clearly than the consultation announced in April by the government seeking views on a range of technical issues. The invitation to contribute to the shaping of policy that will legally oblige consumers and manufacturers to switch – ‘Policy design features for the car and van zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate’ – remains open until June 10th. Although the switch to EVs is driven by legislation, consumer confidence and sentiment are what ultimately determine success in any market and this is where Autovia will play a key role in the zero-emissions motoring journey. This special report sets the scene for Autovia's mission to definitively measure and track changes in consumer sentiment and behaviour to help decision makers to better understand areas of critical focus. Autovia is uniquely placed to analyse the consumer journey to EV acceptance, with unrivalled access to what car buyers are really thinking. Autovia's insights are gained through its trusted relationship with car buyers, understanding their motivations in unparalleled breadth and depth, and thanks to a highly engaged and voluntarily opted-in audience that is unique in the British automotive world. As well as providing decision makers with a vital overview of market sentiment and challenges, Autovia also offers brand-level analysis to help businesses gain competitive advantage. This will be invaluable to car makers in shaping model ranges to match consumer demand.

Tesla remains the most owned EV brand in Britain

EVs are currently most often bought as a second or third vehicle

Driver Power captures the views of up to 60,000 people

EV owners are more likely than anyone else to buy cars online

Current EV owners are least likely to change fuel type next time

Who buys EVs today?

For example EVs have become to some extent a man's world, a trend that is clearly unsustainable if we are to achieve universal adoption. In 2021 the typical EV owner was male, middle-aged or older and enjoying greater financial security than the typical ICE car owner. This does not mean that women are uninterested in EVs; statistics from across the developed world consistently show that the majority of car purchases are a joint decision, in family or couple settings. However, men tend to be recorded more often as the registered keeper in the case of EVs. The economic and demographic segments owning the highest proportion of EVs were those earning between £80,000 and £124,999 and aged between 66 and 75 years.

& – A look under the bonnet

Autovia has already developed a range of important insights into existing EV owners. Some of these signal significant challenges for the market's expansion.

However, this is where concerns about battery longevity are also inevitable, illustrating the complexity of this moment in pursuing the conversion of car owners en masse to electric. Autovia’s work to understand this will help to encourage innovative approaches to squaring this circle. Reflecting this current imbalance between the EV and ICE car markets, the proportion of EV and hybrid vehicles 10 years old or more is a tiny 8.2% compared with 33.2% and 38.8% for diesel and petrol vehicles in this older segment of cars. Autovia research also demonstrates the strong lead enjoyed at brand level by those manufacturers who are able to gain a positive reputation early in the journey. Just as Toyota became synonymous with hybrid technology via the Prius, Tesla has enjoyed a runaway lead in terms of awareness and reputation in the EV space. Indeed, among the existing EV owners in Autovia’s research panel, Teslas are driven by 18.1% making Tesla consistently the leading brand. However, Autovia’s granular research into the full range of factors that drive public perceptions of EVs is now suggesting that other manufacturers have strong opportunities to take sales away from Tesla in the coming years - and not just by launching less expensive cars. This will be reported on in future aiQs.

Current EV owners most often earn over £80,000 a year and are typically over 55.

Motivations for buying an EV

The essential tension between relatively high initial EV purchase costs and their lower day-to-day running costs remains one of the biggest challenges for the market to overcome. The most recent Driver Power research confirms this with running costs topping the list of reasons EVs are desired, but purchase costs coming second in the reasons against. Although range anxiety is predictably rated as the top reason why those who most recently rejected buying an EV, more research is needed into the relationship between driver benchmarks for acceptable range and the distances currently achievable. Perceptions, rather than reality, are a problem for the industry. Despite continuous improvements in battery technology delivering ever greater distance between charges, motorists consistently say they want even more range. Average weekly mileages driven in the UK have been falling consistently for more than a decade and are now consistently below ranges already offered by many mainstream EV models. This suggests that most drivers would need to charge much less frequently than they realise.

The role of emotion, rather than logic, cannot be underestimated here, as Autovia highlighted recently with revelations that although the average driver travels less by car today than pre-pandemic, they value the sense of independence and freedom afforded by car ownership more than they previously did. The fact is that most EVs available today would justify their higher initial purchase price through lower running costs over time AND deliver sufficient range to suit most weekly needs – but drivers typically remain sceptical. For these reasons around six out of 10 recent car buyers did not consider an EV at all. Another relatively small but significant factor remains the emotional attachment to ICE cars, which was reported by almost one in 10 of those who decided against an EV.

Will converters to EV also convert to a different way of buying?

Autovia’s Driver Power analysis has also revealed a strong connection between those who are most open to buying an EV and openness to the online purchase process. The group with the strongest feelings about buying in-person from a physical location are diesel owners, 84% of whom will not choose the online experience. In contrast almost half of those who considered an EV most recently also expressed willingness to conduct the entire car buying process online. The group most likely to buy online, however, are currently petrol car owners.

Loyalty to electric wins over every other fuel type

Much of the commentary in the car market predictably focuses on perceived negative aspects of electrification. Everybody knows that many drivers worry about charging infrastructure and typically remain reluctant to commit to electric. But one of the most striking data points in Autovia’s scene-setting research revealed that current EV owners are massively more loyal to their chosen engine type than ICE drivers, including current hybrid drivers. More than 90% of EV owners say they are now committed to choosing an electric car again the next time they buy. This is a remarkable figure compared with the 52% of petrol car owners who want to stick with their unleaded or the dwindling number of current diesel owners who intend to swap into another diesel car. This vote of confidence in EVs will doubtless create its own momentum for electrification and signals to manufacturers that product development and marketing spend in EVs is a reliable investment in the future.

Insights Quarterly

aiQ

Motivations

Converters to EV

Loyalty to electric

Summary and conclusions

We live in unprecedented times …. Covid, Ukraine war, supply chain issues, the energy crisis and the high cost of living. With many consumers having difficulty just making ends meet, will they be able to afford a new car? If they can’t, then their current cars will just get older and older and maybe the increased charges forced upon them for not having the new technology will force them out of personal mobility. This is worrying, especially for those living in rural areas where public transport is scarce. Mobility should be a choice for all - not just for the privileged. Will policy makers need a rethink on timings or at the very least add in some exclusions to current proposals? We will be contributing our own thoughts – and those of our readers – to the debate. Going electric is a tech-savvy affair, not all consumers are engaged or want to be engaged with smartphones. How will these people manage the transition? Maybe they won't? Businesses which were once entirely outside the automotive industry will find themselves central to the transformation. And those car makers who first convert car buyers to electric will need to understand how to keep those new customers. We can help them all with the breadth and depth of data necessary to inform decision makers, underpinned by our own fiercely independent perspectives. Welcome to aiQ – Autovia Insights Quarterly – revealing the future of Britain's automotive landscape.

There has never been a more exciting but challenging time in automotive and never have there been so many opportunities for individual manufacturers to assert themselves. The old brand hierarchies which saw German badges synonymous with quality or Japanese cars’ reliability firmly rooted in the public mind may well be reshuffled. Much of our focus will be on the nuances in public perceptions of electric car makers and what we have already discovered reveals a fascinating reputational tussle between some big names and relative newcomers. Some reputations will be harder to dent than others. For example, it is no surprise that Tesla is perceived as the brand that has led electric car adoption in the UK so far and one that consequently enjoys the strongest reputation for innovation. But car buyers are motivated by many more factors than trailblazing or exciting original technology. Our data suggests that it's all to play for in the EV market when it comes to qualities such as visual appeal - where Hyundai has taken pole position so far. Traditional brand popularity and positioning are changing with the rise of far eastern makers like Kia, who boast a top-three spot in terms of trendsetting, innovation and beauty, according to our Driver Power data. This looks to be shaping up as the most dynamic period in the UK’s long relationship with the car and how smoothly it proceeds will depend on many variables. Policy makers need to understand emerging restraining factors, such as the current demographic imbalance in take-up of EVs and invest thought in proposing incentives that make the journey to electric as inclusive as possible.

Steve Fowler, Editor-in-chief

Summary

Always-On Survey

On-Site Behaviour

Progressive Profiling

Registration & Tools

Vehicle Ownership

Current Financing

Rollover for values

18.11%

15.94%

13.85%

12.28%

6.79%

5.54%

5.48%

4.10%

3.36%

2.22%

TESLA

NISSAN

BMW

KIA

RENAULT

VOLKSWAGEN

MG MOTOR UK

HYUNDAI

JAGUAR

AUDI

Driver Power respondents EV brand ownership (Oct 2021)

Tesla and Nissan’s historic reputational advantage is illustrated by current rates of ownership - but BMW and Kia are catching up fast.

Source data: Driver Power - 38,439 owners of all current car types.

This share of older, wealthier owners is no surprise, given the typically higher purchase costs of an EV, along with perhaps greater freedom and control of journey-planning for retired people. While this insight signals quicker-win marketing opportunities for manufacturers, policy makers should take note of the barriers that clearly exist, which must be overcome in the journey to full conversion. Based on analysis of more than 38,000 car owners Autovia has established that EVs were driven last year by two men to every one woman, so it will be monitoring closely if and by how much that gap is closing in forthcoming data sets. And while the used-car market supplies the vast majority of internal combustion engine (ICE) car purchases annually, EVs are far more likely to be bought from new. This suggests that greater supply in the used market is critical for encouraging less wealthy adopters into the EV ownership experience.

Car buyers who say cost is the biggest obstacle to purchasing an EV

Car buyers who say the cost of an EV is an obstacle to purchase

Car buyers who cite environmental benefits as the main reason to consider EVs

Car buyers who cite environmental benefits as a reason to consider EVs

The proportion of drivers who say their emotional attachment to ICE cars puts them off an EV at the moment

66%

34%

Car buyers who cite lower running costs as the top reason to choose an EV

44%

64%

29%

25%

Key Numbers

32.27%

7.50%

29.84%

53.28%

48.44%

40.10%

83.76%

39.59%

30.40%

28.32%

27.63%

8.74%

30.57%

16.32%

23.24%

Those considering an EV for their next car are far more likely to consider buying online than those intending to buy an ICE vehicle. 84% of those intending to buy diesel will not buy online – Source: Driver Power

yes

not sure yet

Petrol Diesel Self-Charging Hybrid Plug-in Hybrid Fully Electric (Battery)

83%

of current petrol or diesel drivers did not consider an EV when they bought their current car

Cheaper running costs is the top reason given by those who considered an EV when they bought their current car