Analysing the take up of battery electric vehicles: An investigation of barriers amongst drivers in the UK

Berkeley, Nigel; Jarvis, David; Jones, Andrew · 2018 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.1016/j.trd.2018.06.016

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Summary

This study investigates the barriers preventing the widespread adoption of battery electric vehicles (EVs) among mainstream drivers in the UK. Motivated by the significant gap between government carbon reduction targets and actual EV market penetration—which remained below 0.6% in the UK in 2017—the research aims to move beyond small-scale demonstrator trials and North American contexts. The authors seek to identify and conceptualize barriers from the perspective of a large sample of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle owners, thereby providing empirically grounded insights for policymakers and manufacturers. The methodology involved a large-scale survey administered via the Automobile Association’s (AA) Motoring Panel in January 2016. The study collected data from 26,195 UK drivers, utilizing a 5-point Likert scale to assess the severity of 19 specific barriers identified in prior literature. These barriers ranged from financial concerns (purchase price, resale value) to technical issues (range, charging infrastructure) and social perceptions (design, environmental impact). The analysis employed exploratory factor analysis to group correlated barriers into broader constructs and multivariate regression to examine how driver characteristics, such as age, gender, and socio-economic status, influenced these perceptions. The results identified high purchase price and the availability of public charging stations as the principal barriers, with over 80% of respondents citing each as a "really serious" concern. Other significant deterrents included the time required to offset higher purchase prices through fuel savings (68%), battery durability concerns (65%), and limited driving range (59%). Conversely, barriers such as the belief that EVs are unreliable technology, vehicle aesthetics, and concerns over the real environmental impact of EVs were rated as less significant. The data revealed that barriers are not isolated; the average driver cited seven barriers as concerns, indicating a complex, multifaceted deterrent landscape. The significance of this research lies in its provision of a robust, large-scale dataset that challenges the reliance on biased, small-sample studies. By demonstrating that financial and infrastructure-related concerns dominate over technological skepticism among mainstream UK drivers, the paper suggests that policy interventions must address these specific, interconnected factors rather than treating barriers in isolation. The findings offer a framework for targeting policy strategies toward specific market segments and highlight the need for holistic solutions that reduce the complexity of the adoption problem, ultimately informing more effective strategies to accelerate EV uptake.

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