Confidence is as important to improving consumer demand in the used electric vehicle market as pricing, the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) has spotlighted.

Work to create more consumer confidence in used EVs is paramount, according to the AFP

The industry body, which will be at next month’s Great British Fleet Event, said more needs to be done to show consumers EVs are as much a secure and sensible purchase as a petrol or diesel equivalent.

Ric Baird, board director at the AFP, explained: “The AFP and many other bodies were signatories to a BVRLA open letter asking for more government support for electrification in the used sector, especially focusing on the need to make EVs as affordable as possible while shoring up residual values. This is certainly required.

“What is perhaps receiving less attention – although included in the letter – is the need to create more consumer confidence in used EVs, overcoming the real hurdles that exist as well as the large number of distortions and half-truths in circulation. There is an argument that generating a sense of everyday normality and absence of risk around EVs is as important as any financial considerations.”

Key actions needed to drive confidence include work to establish the long-term reliability of EV batteries, combating a “huge amount of misinformation” that ranges from their supposed propensity to self-combust to the speed at which they degrade.

Ric Baird, board director at the AFP

Baird went on: “All the available evidence now shows them to be stable, robust and long-lasting, with degradation generally occurring at a slow and predictable rate. That needs to be communicated.”

As with many other stakeholders, the AFP has called for the urgent establishment of an industry-backed battery health check. Labour’s pre-election manifesto included a commitment for the introduction of a standardised battery health check – and while the Government is reportedly working on a project to deliver this, the AFP says it can’t arrive soon enough.

The industry body has also equally stressed the need for action to make charging as economical and accessible as possible.

“While the charging infrastructure is growing at a pace, its presence is patchy and public chargers are often expensive. Especially for people living in terraced houses or apartments without the off-road parking for their own charger, there needs to be cost effective, convenient charging provided very quickly.”

A successful EV market was not just about inspiring confidence among consumers but car dealers, too, Baird added.

“There remain car dealers who won’t touch a used EV and that’s a situation that can’t continue. Again, there needs to be an understanding that buying and selling electric cars and vans is something that can be done with certainty in 2025.”