Two in three electric car owners would turn their nose up at the offer of a petrol courtesy car if offered one while their EV was being repaired, a new study has found.
A survey of 500 EV drivers found that 67 per cent would refuse an internal combustion engine (ICE) replacement if their car was off the road.
Motor Assist, a vehicle accident claims management company, has called for an industry-wide EV-for-EV courtesy car guarantee after launching a policy of its own.
It means those who’ve switched to battery cars are always offered like-for-like EVs as temporary replacements.
Two in three EV owners said they would expect an electric courtesy car while theirs is off the road being repaired – and they would reject a petrol or diesel alternative
When the pool of owners were asked if they’d support an industry standard approach of suppling EV courtesy cars to motorists who drive battery vehicles already, nine in ten (88 per cent) backed the idea.
For electric car drivers over the age of 65, support was even higher for an EV-for-EV approach, with 94 per cent saying they’d like to see a guarantee introduced so they aren’t forced to get behind the wheel of a petrol or diesel car.
Under current rules, motorists are entitled to an equivalent replacement vehicle while theirs is being repaired having been involved in an accident that – importantly – was not their fault.
However, accident aftercare companies and insurers are not required to provide a vehicle with the same powertrain, meaning ICE drivers could also end up with EVs as replacements.
Drivers are entitled to an equivalent replacement vehicle if they are involved in an accident that is not their fault. However, this does not require accident aftercare companies or insurers to provide a vehicle with the same powertrain (pictured, a Tesla being repaired)
Motor Assist says by putting in place an industry EV-for-EV guarantee would provide a ‘commitment to sustainable mobility in the lead up to the ban on the sale of new ICE cars’.
Since the beginning of 2023, it and parent company AX have provided nearly three thousand electric vehicle loan cars to drivers who have been involved in an accident.
It fully expects demand for electric courtesy vehicles to grow in the years running up to the ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars, which the DfT recently confirmed to This is Money will be accelerated to 2030.
EV sales were up almost 11 per cent last month compared to August 2023, resulting in the highest overall market share (22.6 per cent) in a single month since December 2022.
When the survey panel was asked why they think that electric car drivers should always be issued a courtesy EV, almost half (46 per cent) said it wouldn’t be fair to have to step back into a diesel or petrol car.
A similar proportion (45 per cent) also said that they would not want to go back to petrol or diesel cars for ‘environmental reasons’.
Motor Assist’s parent company AX has launched a new scheme where ICE drivers whose motors are damaged in crashes that were not their fault are offered to try an EV as a courtesy car
Unfortunately, a survey of ICE drivers was not conducted to ask if they would accept an EV courtesy car as a short-tern replacement for their off-the-road petrol or diesel cars.
With very few – in any – petrol, diesel and conventional ‘self-charging’ hybrid owners having homechargers installed at their properties, to force an EV on an ICE driver could easily be considered very inconvenient.
Scott Hamilton-Cooper, COO at AX, said ‘anything that can help to positively impact the UK’s transition to zero emissions vehicles is a welcome step’
AX, though, has launched an ‘EValuate’ service as part of its business to offers drivers the choice.
Motorists are provided the opportunity to experience an EV replacement vehicle while their own car is being repaired in a bid to encourage more people to switch.
Scott Hamilton-Cooper, chief commercial officer at AX, said: ‘We were the first to introduce an EV-for-EV guarantee and after its successful implementation three years’ ago, we have raised the bar again with EValuate, our EV for ICE test drive initiative.
‘The feedback we’ve received and the research we have conducted shows that customers, both drivers and fleet managers, want this commitment to be more widespread.
‘Anything that can help to positively impact the UK’s transition from fossil fuel powered cars to zero emission vehicles is a welcome step. Our industry can make a significant contribution to supporting sustainable mobility.
‘As well as offering convenience and continuity, it reduces average CO2 emissions for our business while helping the fleets, insurers, and dealers we work with to minimise their environmental impact, too.’
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