Attitudes to Electric Vehicles in Northern Ireland 2019/20 has been published today

Date published: 26 November 2020

The ‘Attitudes to Electric Vehicles in Northern Ireland 2019/20’ report is now available.

DRD statistics publication

This report, produced by the Analysis, Statistics and Research Branch (ASRB) of the Department for Infrastructure (DfI), presents findings from the 2019/20 Continuous Household Survey (CHS).

The publication is available on the ASRB website at:

Key Points

  • Four fifths (80%) of respondents said they ‘own or have access to at least one car or van which they can drive’. Almost a fifth (18%) did not have a driving licence and were not asked any further questions on e-cars.
  • One in 50 respondents (2%) said their next purchase would ‘definitely be an electric vehicle’ while almost a quarter (23%) said they would ‘strongly consider’ an electric vehicle for their next purchase.
  • Male respondents (28%) and those aged 35 to 49 (31%) were more likely than females (23%) and other age groups to say that they would ‘definitely’ buy or ‘strongly consider’ an electric vehicle as their next vehicle.
  • The proportion who said they would ‘definitely’ buy or ‘strongly consider’ an electric vehicle for their next purchase was highest amongst those living in Lisburn and Castlereagh District Council (32%) and lowest amongst those living in Fermanagh and Omagh District Council (16%).
  • Of those that said they would ‘definitely’ buy or consider an electric vehicle for their next purchase, over a fifth (21%) said they would be likely to buy ‘within the next 2 years’ while more than half (51%) said this would be ‘between 2 and 5 years’ time.
  • The main reasons encouraging respondents to buy electric vehicles were ‘Low overall running costs’ (cited by 53% of respondents) followed by ‘up to £3,500 grant towards purchase of an electric vehicle’ (51%).
  • The main reasons discouraging respondents from buying electric vehicles were ‘purchase price’ (64% of respondents), ‘need to recharge your vehicle’ (49%) and ‘vehicle range from one charge’ (37% of respondents).

 

Notes to editors: 

Background

The information presented in this publication derives from the 2019/20 Continuous Household Survey (CHS) in relation to attitudes towards electric vehicles.  An electric vehicles module was included in the CHS in 2014/15 and 2015/16, however trend and comparison data is limited as the question set was changed significantly in 2019/20.  The CHS is considered to be a representative sample of the population at household level.

A total of 2,962 adults aged 16 and over were surveyed in 2019/20 and 2,956 provided a response to the initial question. 

It contains information on the proportion of people who are likely to purchase an electric vehicle as their next purchase, when they are likely to do so, what factors would encourage them to purchase an electric vehicle, and what factors would discourage them to purchase an electric vehicle. The Department may use the information presented in this publication to inform and understand the story behind current trends and to assist in any future policy discussion and development.

Official Statistics

This is an Official Statistics publication and therefore follows the Code of Practice for Statistics. You can find further information about the Code of Practice at: Statistics Authority.

Additional Information

For more information relating to this publication, including additional analysis, breakdowns of data, or alternative formats please contact:

Analysis, Statistics and Research Branch,
Room 4.13c,
Clarence Court,
10 - 18 Adelaide Street,
Town Parks
BELFAST, BT2 8GB     

For media enquiries please contact the DfI Press Office 028 9054 0007.

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