The Institute of the Motor Industry responds to latest update to Vehicle Technology and Aviation Bill
The Government has announced new measures to improve the provision of electric vehicle charge points as part of the Vehicle Technology and Aviation Bill. But Steve Nash, CEO of the Institute of Motor Industry, believes this still won’t address the public resistance to electric vehicles.
Research conducted on behalf of the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) shows that while 40% of the public have grave concerns about air pollution and see Ultra Low Emission Vehicles (ULEV) as a solution, they are unwilling or unable to pay the increased insurance premiums currently levied on these cars. As a result they won’t consider buying or leasing one in the near future.
Insurers charge up to 50% more to cover electric and hybrid cars because of the higher purchase price, and the current lack of skilled technicians available to repair them. As things stand only 1% of mechanics in the UK have the necessary qualifications to carry out work on the high-voltage systems of ULEVs and they are almost exclusively employed within franchised dealers.
The public are similarly concerned with the lack of charging points available to service electric and hybrid cars, according to the IMI research. But, while the government is supporting the development of the charging infrastructure with a £600m fund to promote clean cars, it continues to resist any intervention in the market to deal with the serious skills gap.
The IMI has called on Ministers to help with a £30 million investment in training from its £600 million fund created to promote emission free vehicles.
IMI CEO Steve Nash said:
“This latest announcement, yet again, misses the key point on getting better adoption of electric vehicles. Millions of tax payers cash spent on charging points will be wasted if the government won’t help independent garages and wider industry keep up with the switch to electric.
“It’s not rocket science. Small businesses are uncertain about future demand for work on electrified cars and won’t risk investing in the skills they need without help from the government. This means insurance and servicing costs will stay out of the reach of many drivers and car buyers will still be attracted to diesel cars as the most fuel efficient alternative, keeping them on our roads in significant numbers for decades to come.
“The government has recognised the most obvious barrier to consumers buying electric cars, which is the charging infrastructure, and it is taking direct steps to address this. However, it needs to recognise that this is the biggest change in the automotive industry for over 100 years and there are other barriers that must be addressed too, not least the skills gap.”
Vital Research and Statistics conducted the survey for the IMI. They polled 2,000 UK adults with driving licenses between 13th and 19th December 2016. Only 17% of respondents thought the extra costs for insurance for ULEVs were a price worth paying for the environmental benefits. Even though 38% ranked Air Pollution as the thing they worried about most.
There were age and regional variations in the responses. 18-24 year olds are more willing to pay higher insurance costs, 21% compared to the over 55s of whom only 9% would pay the extra cost.
More than 20% of residents of London, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Brighton and Cardiff believed the extra costs worth paying for cleaner air. Only 11% of residents of Coventry, Leeds, Southampton and Newcastle agreed.