Almost three-quarters of motorists (72%) say they would switch to an electric car if it offered 250 miles of range from five minutes of charging, according to new research.

The promise of an electric car that can be powered with the convenience of a petrol equivalent clearly strikes a chord with many potential buyers

Technology capable of delivering this was recently unveiled by BYD, and a survey by Startline Motor Finance saw 36% of respondents point out it’s almost as fast as refuelling with petrol and 34% said it means they won’t need a home charger.

Paul Burgess, CEO at Startline, said: “The promise of an electric car that can be powered with the convenience of a petrol equivalent clearly strikes a chord with many potential buyers, our research shows.

“Being able to pull up to a charger and add 250 miles of range in moments would remove the need for a home charger, especially important for people who don’t have the space to install their own, and promises to make the whole process of highway charging much simpler.”

There are some objections from drivers though. The Tracker also shows that 15% believe power from chargers this fast will be expensive while 12% say that building a charging network of this speed would be difficult.

Burgess said: “We have, of course, yet to see BYD’s charging in action and it is comparatively rare to see chargers rated at over 300kW in the UK, never mind the 1,000kW that five-minute charging demands. Our most powerful public chargers offer less than half that capacity.

“Delivering this step change would require a massive investment in infrastructure and motorists are probably correct in assuming that this kind of power would be expensive to install and to access.”