Northern Ireland drivers not going electric in 2024

A new survey has found drivers in Northern Ireland don’t plan on switching to an electric car in 2024.

The survey by CompareNI.com found that a massive 94% said they would not be purchasing an electric car in 2024, despite government plans to scrap the selling of new petrol and diesel cars by 2035.

A UK wide version of the survey found a similar result, the team at CompareNI.com asked over 1,600 drivers the same question, with 84% saying no to electric or hybrid vehicles in 2024.

In a previous CompareNI.com survey, 96% of NI drivers thought that electric vehicles were too expensive. Electric vehicles are, on average, nearly £28,000 dearer than petrol cars to purchase. The average cost to buy an electric car in the UK is around £49,818.* In comparison the average cost of an average medium sized petrol car is £21,964.

In addition to this, drivers had major concerns over accessibility of charging points, with 94% stating there aren’t enough charging points currently available in Northern Ireland.

Government statistics show that Northern Ireland has the lowest level of charging devices in the UK, with just 20 devices per 100,000 people. In comparison, the next lowest level was 33 devices per 100,000 people in the north west of England.

Commenting on the survey results, Ian Wilson, managing director of CompareNI.com, said: “Our survey results show that despite the proposed changes to scrap the selling of new petrol and diesel cars by 2035, the public still aren’t fully on board with the changes.

“We will be a year closer to the proposed changes in 2024 and yet the survey shows many drivers in Northern Ireland still aren’t considering switching to electric vehicles.

“At a time when people are continuing to feel the impact of the cost-of-living crisis, drivers don’t want to pay significantly more money to purchase a car. In addition to this, accessibility to charging points across Northern Ireland is also deterring drivers from going electric.

“It is clear from our survey results that the government will have to do a lot more to help encourage drivers in Northern Ireland to make the switch to electric vehicles and support the proposed changes over the next decade.”

CompareNI.com's findings are based on a randomised survey of 800 respondents across Northern Ireland in November 2023.