Should more of us be driving hybrid or electric cars?

The use of fuel-efficient hybrid or electric cars is also seeing an exponential rise in recent years. In our latest survey of consumer opinions and actions around climate change, 27% of respondents now claim to drive fuel efficiently or drive a fuel-efficient car.

There are currently around 100,000 electric vehicles on the roads throughout the UK, but it’s highly likely that we’ll see millions of them over the next few years.

The government has initiated plans to ban petrol and diesel cars by 2035, which was recently brought forward from its initial target of 2040 – meaning that car manufacturers are now entirely focussed on creating more environmentally-friendly vehicles.

However, of those we surveyed, affordability presents a significant barrier to many; 39% of respondents said they didn’t think they could afford to purchase a hybrid or electric car.

Affordability is indeed a key issue when it comes to anything sustainable. If we’re going to make it mainstream, we need to make sure these technologies are accessible to the majority of the population.

However, economies of scale will come into play over the next few years, and this increased take-up will begin to drive down the price of electric vehicles.

In the meantime, many of us are starting to look at alternative methods of transport, whether it’s taking the bus or train to work, walking to the local supermarket, or cycling.

Keep checking back on our blog for more insights on climate change attitudes and opinions, or download the full research paper here.