Only 3% of electrical automobile house owners would return to a fossil gas automotive

How do EV drivers charge? And are they really satisfied with their electric car? 

These are the questions posed to motorists in a new study of 3,746 EV owners.

Leading EV charge point app Zap-Map has conducted its annual survey, now in its seventh year, that offers insights into the behaviours, attitudes and satisfaction of EV drivers. 

Respondents answered questions on a wide range of topics, including how many have access to home charging, the most popular public charging locations across the UK, and the key factors influencing where and how drivers choose to charge their vehicles. 

Conducted in October, the responses show that overall satisfaction continues to improve, while also highlighting areas which need improvement.

Here are the key takeaways…

EV owners wouldn’t go back to petrol or diesel

Fewer than 3% of EV drivers expressed interest in switching back to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles – EV satisfaction remains very high

EV driver satisfaction remains high, with owners showing little interesting in returning to the internal combustion engine (ICE).

Fewer than 3 per cent of EV drivers expressed interest in switching back to ICE cars.

Drivers gave their EVs an average satisfaction score of 87 out of 100, highlighting the cost-effectiveness (78 per cent), environmental benefits (73 per cent), and better vehicle performance (65 per cent) as the key reasons for owning an EV.

The public charging network remains essential

Over 51% of EV drivers use public chargers at least once a month, but overall satisfaction with the network was only 64/100 

While the vast majority (79 per cent) of EV owners have a dedicated home charger, over half (51 per cent) use public charging at least once a month.

This reflects the importance of the public charging network, and that it needs to be continuously maintained, invested in and expanded.

While the average satisfaction rating for the UK’s public charging network was only 64 out of 100, with clear room for improvement, it did fare better than the year before.

In fact, 61 per cent of respondents said that public charging had improved on the past year, in terms of both reliability and availability thanks to the growth of chargers – a 38 per cent increase in the last 12 months.

EV drivers are choosing to charge at charging hubs and motorway services

Motorway services remain the most popular charging locations – which shows many people do indeed take long journeys in EVs – with 58% of respondents topping up there

The use of EV charging hubs continues to grow strongly – and has done over the last four years – demonstrating the growing appeal of these convenient en-route charging options.

Fifty-three per cent of EV drivers say they use charging hubs (these are dedicated charging stations with multiple chargers and bays) up from 47 per cent last year.

Overall, the increase in availability of rapid and ultra-rapid charging hubs – defined as locations with six or more rapid (50kW-149kW) or ultra-rapid (150kW+) chargers – over the past year is reflected in the growth of hub usage.

There are currently 486 rapid charging hubs across the UK open to all EVs, an increase from 246 at the end of 2023 – an impressive 222 new hubs.

However, motorway services remain the most popular charging locations – which shows many people do indeed take long journeys in EVs – with 58 per cent of respondents topping up there.

EV drivers don’t want to charge while they do their weekly shop

Sainsbury’s launched its own electric car charging brand in January, becoming the first supermarket in the UK to introduce and run its own EV charging network

On the flip side, EV owners are choosing to not top up while they shop as supermarket EV charging has dropped considerably.

The use of supermarket car park chargers has fallen by 32 per cent.

This is despite the fact there are now almost 3,000 EV chargepoints in place at UK supermarkets and a 59 per cent annual rise in supermarket sites offering EV charging. 

This is likely due to many supermarkets removing free charging options.