Recent survey shows a third of EV drivers also own a petrol or diesel car, but electric is favoured for all kinds of journeys.

Dual fuel drivers choose electric for vast majority of journeys

Research from leading electric vehicle (EV) charge point mapping service Zap-Map has shown that around a third of EV owners own a petrol or diesel vehicle too. But its survey of over 4,300 EV drivers showed that, for more than 1,300 ‘dual fuel drivers’ who also have a petrol or diesel vehicle, electric is chosen for the vast majority of journeys.

The type of journey electric is most likely to be favoured for is a local daily trip such as going shopping, the school run or eating out, for which 85% of the time dual fuel drivers will take the EV.

For commutes, 71% these drivers use their EV, and even for journeys of over 100 miles 67% will stick with electric. Even for UK based holidays, likely to involve long cross-country journeys reliant on the public charging network, a majority of 55% will leave the fossil fuel car at home.

The annual Zap-Map EV Charging Survey showed that most EV owners only own electric. 49% drive just one full battery-electric vehicle, 8% two or more and 2% own or regularly use one battery electric and one plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.

In addition, 25% drive one battery-electric car and one fossil fuel vehicle, while the remainder drive a mixture of battery electric, plug-in hybrid and/or fossil fuel vehicles.

Satisfaction levels for electric vehicles remain higher than for petrol and diesel. Less than 2% of EV drivers want to return to petrol or diesel compared to 9 out of 10 who would not consider trading for a conventional car. Meanwhile the report shows 89% satisfaction for battery-electric vehicles and 83% for plug-in hybrid electric — both higher than 71% for petrol and diesel.

Melanie Shufflebotham, COO & Co-Founder of Zap-Map, said: “Our survey has shown for several years now that once you go electric, you don’t go back. This year we’ve gone further to show that drivers who haven’t quite let their conventional car go yet still choose to drive their electric. Even for those long cross-country journeys where a charge stop is likely to be necessary.

“It’s an endorsement for EVs that even when the option is open to take the fossil fuel car, drivers are very happy to stick with electric. Anyone who still on the fence about going electric, perhaps not sure if 2023 is the year to do so just yet, this should be clear evidence that it’s time to take the plunge!”