Almost three-quarters of young people would consider an electric car

Well over half (57%) of British people would consider buying an electric car if it was available at the right price for them, with the proportion increasing to 73% for people aged 18-24.

That's according to a recent YouGov survey commissioned by insurer Aviva looking at attitudes to automotive technology.

The majority of respondents (84%) said that the reason they'd consider purchasing an electric vehicle is because ‘they are environmentally friendly’, followed by ‘to save money on fuel’ (69%) and ‘to anticipate future trends’ (54%).

According to the survey, women are more likely to consider buying an electric car because ‘they are environmentally friendly’ (92%) than men (78%). Men, on the other hand, are more likely to consider buying an electric car because of ‘advanced technology’ (32%) than women (14%).

Overall, 74% of respondents agreed with the statement that ‘electric vehicles are more environmentally friendly than petrol and diesel vehicles’ and over half (59%) agreed that 'environmental consciousness is a concern for me when purchasing a vehicle'.

The majority of respondents (81%) said they would be concerned about battery charge and range when purchasing an electric car. Other concerns were ‘finding somewhere to charge the vehicle’ (74%), ‘the time it would take to recharge’ (66%) and ‘the price of purchasing the vehicle’ (64%).

Londoners are the least concerned about ‘finding somewhere to charge the vehicle’ (62%), while respondents in Scotland are most concerned (83%).

The survey was posed to a nationally representative GB sample of 2,019 adult respondents aged over 18, of whom 1,487 were identified to be regular driver.