EVs: what's holding us back?
To coincide with Net Zero week, Professor Rohit Bhagat of Coventry University's Research Centre for E-Mobility and Clean Growth examines key barriers to take up of electric vehicles in the UK
Professor Bhagat says car manufacturers and governments need to do more to allay our anxieties about switching to zero emission vehicles
Electric vehicles have been around for a very long time. As fossil fuel driven climate change is resulting in a hotter world, EVs are positioned as the future of transport - yet the switch to them isn’t happening fast enough to hit our net-zero targets by 2050.
The electric revolution is underway - but not at the speed we need
Out of the 42 million vehicles on UK roads, only 1.3 million are fully electric. Almost a fifth of new car registrations in 2024 were zero-emission vehicles, providing hope that EVs are beginning to enter mass adoption. However, given rising fuel costs, growing environmental awareness and public support for sustainability, many might have expected a faster switch. While the UK has made progress, we are still trailing behind global leaders such as China and the Scandinavian countries. Ambitious targets to phase out petrol and diesel cars by 2035 risk remaining mere spoken words unless the government steps up with stronger incentives to encourage the public to make the transition.
What’s holding drivers back and what could be solutions?
Range anxiety and access to charging remain key concerns, with many drivers uncertain whether they can access a charger as easily as a petrol station. Then there’s the recharge time – a quick fuel stop takes minutes, but charging an EV can take half an hour or more, since not all charging points offer fast speeds. On top of that, the high cost of the cars themselves continue to put off potential buyers.
We live in a society that moves at speed and with patience in short supply, long waits at charging points don’t fit into busy schedules. Although the UK does now have more EV chargers than petrol stations (yes, it's true), slow and inconvenient access is an ongoing problem. To bring us closer to EVs charging on the move, Coventry University's Research Centre for Transport and Cities (FTC) is helping to develop technology that wirelessly charges electric vehicles as they pass over metal coils embedded in the road. Designed for buses, taxis and delivery vans, this technology could allow vehicles to keep driving without long charging stops.
For many living in urban areas without driveways or garages, charging an EV at home can be difficult. In Coventry 47 per cent of households lack off-street parking, which is why FTC is backing the Levelling Up Coventry’s EV Adoption Journey. As part of this, we’re trialling a mobile charging unit that can be used at any location and developing tools to help city planners map where chargers are most needed.
Residual values
There's a good understanding of second-hand values of petrol/diesel cars, allowing leasing and PCP to work effectively, based on years of understanding. As the battery represents up to 50 per cent of the cost of an EV, the residual performance of the battery pack is directly linked to the residual value of the car. So EVs typically have lower residual values as people need to be convinced that the battery will last. Also, insurance costs of EVs are higher as when an EV is involved in an accident it's more likely to be written off.
A mixed-technology approach
That said, we can’t narrow battery-powered EVs as the only option. Perhaps the greatest thing we’ve learned so far about technology is that what works today could be replaced tomorrow. Decarbonising transport at scale will require a mix of technologies – especially for freight, aviation and other high-demand sectors. So we keep an open mind and push the limits of what’s possible, because the journey to net zero won’t be solved by one single technology. The Clean Futures programme reflects this, as we fund and guide businesses to develop different types of green transport technologies. We’re also exploring different energy pathways entirely - from trialling zero-emission electric freight vehicles across Europe to developing hydrogen propulsion for future aircraft with ZeroAvia.
Enticing people to transition to EVs is what is needed now to move closer to our targets, but ultimately the road to net zero isn’t about one technology winning out - it’s about building a transport system flexible enough to meet diverse needs, reducing emissions across all sectors and adapting quickly as new breakthroughs emerge.
