Key points

Electric vehicles in Northern Ireland

  • When asked if respondents own an electric vehicle, 5% said they currently own one and less than 1% said they previously owned one.

  • Almost one-fifth of respondents (19%) would ‘definitely’ or ‘strongly consider’ buying an electric vehicle as their next purchase, down from 25% in 2023/24 and from 26% in 2019/20.

  • Of those respondents, 24% intend to purchase an electric vehicle within the next 2 years.

  • The top three reasons selected that would encourage purchase of an electric vehicle are: a grant towards purchase of an electric car (46%); low overall running costs (44%); and lower costs for electric compared to petrol/diesel fuel (36%).

  • The most selected reason for discouraging the purchase of an electric vehicle was purchase price, indicated by three-quarters of respondents (75%).

Infographic displaying key findings from the report

Introduction

The Climate Change Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 places a clear responsibility on the Department for Infrastructure to contribute to the achievement of net zero by decarbonising transport.

Most of us are reliant on a form of motorised transport every day; whether that is a car, bus or train; to go about our daily lives. Advice from the Climate Change Committee is that focusing on removing car CO2 emissions through the transition to zero emission vehicles will have the most significant impact on reducing carbon emissions from the transport sector. This will also help by cleaning up our air and making our home a greener place to work and live.

Uses of the data

Question modules on attitudes towards electric vehicles were previously included in the CHS in 2014/15 and 2015/16, however trend and comparison data is limited as the question set changed significantly in 2019/20. This report presents data from the 2024/25 Continuous Household Survey (CHS) in relation to the Attitudes towards electric vehicles in Northern Ireland.

This survey was commissioned to obtain information on people’s attitudes towards electric cars.

Please note that further analysis and Section 75 breakdowns may be available on request from ASRB.

Official Statistics Status

Our statistical practice is regulated by the OSR who sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to. You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by email or via the OSR website.

Methodology changes due to COVID-19

Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, data collection for the 2020/21 survey moved from face-to-face interviewing to telephone mode with a reduction in the number of questions, therefore caution should be used when interpreting trend data due to methodology and content changes during the 2020/21 survey period.

In 2020/21, the output from the survey, in terms of the range and depth of topics covered, was reduced from that of previous years, with the subsequent capacity for detailed analysis constrained. In 2021/22, the sample size for the CHS returned to normal and while the survey content was slightly impacted by the move to telephone interviewing, a larger number of questions were asked.

More information is available on the NISRA website.

Attitudes towards electric vehicles in Northern Ireland

Part 1: Access to car or van

Respondents to the Continuous Household Survey were asked if they ‘own or have access to a car or van’.

Figure 1: Access to car or van? (%)

Almost four-fifths of respondents (79%) surveyed had a driving licence and access to at least one car or van. In contrast, 17% do not have a driving licence and those respondents were not asked any further questions on this module about electric cars.

Figure 2: Do you currently or have you previously owned an electric vehicle? (%)

The vast majority of respondents (95%) have never owned an electric car or van, while 5% currently do and less than 1% previously did but no longer own one.

Part 2: Likelihood to purchase an electric vehicle as your next vehicle

Respondents who had a driving licence were asked a number of questions on their attitudes towards electric vehicles and whether they would be likely to purchase one in the future.

Figure 3: How likely are you to purchase an electric vehicle as your next vehicle? (%)

When asked about their likelihood to purchase an electric vehicle, 4% of respondents said their next purchase would ‘definitely’ be an electric vehicle, while 15% of respondents said they would ‘strongly consider an electric vehicle’. Over half (56%) of the respondents said they would ‘not consider an electric vehicle’ for their next purchase.

Figure 4: Historical trend for likelihood to purchase an electric vehicle as your next vehicle – Those who responded “definitely” or “strongly consider” (%)

When combining the results of respondents who would ‘definitely’ or ‘strongly consider’ an electric vehicle as their next vehicle purchase, we can look at the longer term trend analysis for those likely to buy. In 2024/25 survey, 19% of respondents said they would ‘definitely’ or ‘strongly consider’ purchasing an electric vehicle. This shows a decline from 25% in 2023/24, down in the longer term from 26% in 2019/20. In contrast, the proportion of respondents who said they would not consider purchasing an electric vehicle has increased from 48% in 2023/24 to 56% in 2024/25.

Figure 5: How likely are you to purchase an electric vehicle as your next vehicle? – Those who responded “definitely” or “strongly consider” (by respondent group) (%)

A higher proportion of respondents aged 16 to 24 (29%) said they would ‘definitely’ or ‘strongly consider’ an electric vehicle as their next vehicle purchase compared with 12% of those aged 65+ years.

Similarly, a higher proportion of urban (21%) than rural respondents (16%) indicated they would either ‘definitely’ or ‘strongly consider’ an electric vehicle as their next vehicle purchase.

There was no statistically significant difference between male and female respondents in relation to likelihood of purchasing an electric vehicle as their next vehicle purchase.

Figure 6: How likely are you to purchase an electric vehicle as your next vehicle? – Those who responded “definitely” or “strongly consider” (by local government district) (%)

*Due to small relative sample size, these estimates are more sensitive to variability and should be interpreted with caution.

Just under a third of respondents in Lisburn and Castlereagh (30%) said they would ‘definitely’ or ‘strongly consider’ an electric vehicle as their next vehicle purchase, the highest of all LGDs.

The council area with the lowest proportion of respondents who said they would ‘definitely’ or ‘strongly consider’ an electric vehicle as their next vehicle purchase was Fermanagh and Omagh (7%).

Figure 7: How likely are you to purchase an electric vehicle as your next vehicle? – Those who responded “definitely” or “strongly consider” (by Deprivation quintile and disability) (%)

A higher proportion of respondents with no disability (20%) than with a disability (14%) more likely to say that they would ‘definitely’ or ‘strongly consider’ an electric vehicle as their next vehicle purchase.

There was no statistically significant difference found for those living in the least deprived areas and those living in the most deprived areas in relation to likelihood of purchasing an electric vehicle as their next vehicle purchase.

Figure 8: When do you think you would be likely to purchase an electric vehicle? (%)

Respondents that said they are ‘definitely’ or ‘strongly considering’ purchasing an electric vehicle as their next vehicle were asked when they would be likely to purchase an electric vehicle.

Just under a quarter of respondents (24%) said they are likely to buy an electric vehicle within the next two years, while over half of respondents (54%) said they are likely to purchase the vehicle within the next two to five years, and a further 18% said between five and ten years.

Figure 9: Reasons that would encourage purchase of an electric vehicle? (%)

Respondents were asked to indicate which factors would encourage them to purchase an electric vehicle and which factors would discourage them from doing so. Respondents could chose more than one answer.

*Respondents could chose more than one answer.

‘A grant towards purchase of an electric vehicle’ (46%) was the most frequently given reason that would encourage respondents to purchase an electric vehicle, followed by ‘Low overall running costs’ (44%).

However, 29% of respondents claimed that nothing would encourage them to buy an electric vehicle.

Figure 10: Reasons that would discourage purchase of an electric vehicle? (%)

*Respondents could chose more than one answer.

The most frequently given reason that would discourage respondents from purchasing an electric vehicle is the purchase price itself, with 75% of respondents citing prices as an issue. The next most frequent concerns involve the ‘need to recharge your vehicle’ (54%), ‘availability and location of public network charge points’ (44%) and ‘vehicle range from a single charge’ (43%). Only 5% of respondents said that nothing would discourage them purchasing an electric vehicle.

Figure 11: Furthest distance you think you have to travel to a public charge point from anywhere in NI? (%)

While some electric vehicle drivers charge their car at home, there is a network of publicly accessible charge points across Northern Ireland owned by a number of charge point operators (CPOs). These public charge points help extend a vehicle’s range by providing the opportunity to charge it when driving long distances.

Respondents were asked what they thought is the furthest distance that they would have to travel to reach one of these publicly accessible charge points.

Two-thirds of respondents (66%) believe that they are within 5 miles of the nearest public charge point. At the other end of the scale, around 1% of respondents believe their nearest charger is in excess of 50 miles away.

Contact information

Appendices

Appendix A: Technical Notes

The Northern Ireland Continuous Household Survey

Data Collection

The information presented in this publication derives from the Northern Ireland Continuous Household Survey (CHS), a Northern Ireland wide household survey administered by Central Survey Unit (CSU), Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA).

It is based on a sample of the general population resident in private households and has been running since 1983. The survey is designed to provide a regular source of information on a wide range of social and economic issues relevant to Northern Ireland. The Active and Sustainable Travel in Northern Ireland questions which were commissioned by DfI are included in Appendix C of this report.

Note: Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, NISRA suspended all face to face household interviews in March 2020. In the reporting periods, April 2020 - March 2021 and April 2021 - March 2022, all interviews carried out on the Continuous Household Survey (CHS) were conducted by telephone. For this reporting year, April 2024 - March 2025, face to face interviewing was the preferred method of data collecting, however telephone interviewing was an option, thus making the survey dual-modality. There are a number of factors. which users should take into consideration when interpreting the 2020-21 results and care should be taken when comparing these to previously published findings from the survey and more information is available on the NISRA website.

Data Quality

Data were collected by CSU and various validation checks were carried out as part of the processing. CSU is the leading social survey research organisation in Northern Ireland and is one of the main business areas of NISRA, an Agency within the Department of Finance. CSU has a long track record and a wealth of experience in the design, management and analysis of behavioural and attitude surveys in the context of a wide range of social policy issues. CSU procedures are consistent with the Code of Practice for Statistics.

The CHS sample was assessed and considered to be a representative sample of the Northern Ireland population at household level.

Whilst data quality is considered to be very good, note that all survey estimates are subject to a degree of error and this must be taken account of when considering results. This error will be reasonably small for the majority of Northern Ireland level results but care should be taken when looking at results based on smaller breakdowns.

Respondents

The Continuous Household Survey is a Northern Ireland wide household survey administered by Central Survey Unit, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. The sample for this survey consists of a systematic random sample of 8,940 addresses selected from the NISRA address register. Fieldwork for 2024/25 CHS started on 1 April 2024 and ended on the 31 March 2025. A total of 3,790 households took part in the survey; within those 3,790 households, a total of 4,584 individuals took part in the survey.

The number of respondents who answered each question, i.e. the base number, is stated in the commentary and/or the associated tables in the accompanying tables document. The base number is the unweighted count.

Some questions were only asked if the respondent had answered ‘yes’ to a previous question. The base number may also vary between questions due to some respondents not answering certain questions.

Attitudes on electric cars questions were included in even versions of the questionnaire only.

Weighting

To address non-response bias, data presented based on individual responses have been weighted by sex and age; unweighted total respondent counts have also been provided where appropriate.

Confidence Intervals

No sample is likely to reflect precisely the characteristics of the population it is drawn from because of both sampling and non-sampling errors. An estimate of the amount of error due to the sampling process can be calculated. For a simple random sample design, in which every member of the sampled population has an equal and independent chance of inclusion in the sample, the sampling error of any percentage, p, can be calculated by the formula: s.e. (p) = √(p*(100 – p)/n where n is the number of respondents on which the percentage is based. The sample for the Continuous Household Survey is drawn as a random sample, and thus this formula can be used to calculate the sampling error of any percentage estimate from the survey.

Multiple Response Questions
Multiple response questions are those for which respondents can give more than one response if they wish. In such questions, when individual percentages are summed they may add to more than 100%.

Rounding Conventions
Percentages have been rounded to whole numbers and as a consequence some percentages may not sum to 100.

0% may reflect rounding down of values under 0.5.

Significant Difference
Any statements in this report regarding differences between groups such as males and females, different age groups, dependant status, etc., are statistically significant at the 95% confidence level. This means that we can be 95% confident that the differences between groups are actual differences and have not just arisen by chance. Both the base numbers and the sizes of the percentages have an effect on statistical significance.

Therefore on occasion, a difference between two groups may be statistically significant while the same difference in percentage points between two other groups may not be statistically significant. The reason for this is because the larger the base numbers or the closer the percentages are to 0 or 100, the smaller the standard errors. This leads to increased precision of the estimates which increases the likelihood that the difference between the proportions is actually significant and did not just arise by chance.

Respondent Groups
The following respondent groups were considered:

Age group
The age of the respondent is grouped into the following age bands: 16-24, 25-34, 35-49, 50,-64, 65 and over.

Sex
Sex of respondent is defined as whether the respondent is male or female.

Urban and rural areas
Urban and rural areas have been classified using the statistical classification of settlements defined by the Inter-Departmental Urban-Rural Definition Group.

  • Bands A to E are classified as Urban. This includes Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area (Band A), Derry Urban Area (Band B) and large, medium and small towns (Bands C-E) with populations greater than or equal to 5,000 people.
  • Bands F to H are classified as rural. This includes intermediate settlements (Band F), villages (Band G) and small villages, hamlets and open countryside (Band H) with populations of less than 5,000 people and including open countryside.

Local Government District
Local Government Districts include the 11 district council areas:

Antrim and Newtownabbey
Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon
Belfast
Causeway Coast and Glens
Derry and Strabane
Fermanagh and Omagh
Lisburn and Castlereagh
Mid and East Antrim
Mid Ulster
Newry, Mourne and Down
North Down and Ards

Multiple Deprivation Measure

The measures, known as NIMDM 2017, were informed through public consultation and Steering Group agreement, and provide a mechanism for ranking the 890 Super Output areas (SOAs) in Northern Ireland from the most deprived (rank 1) to the least deprived (rank 890).

They include ranks of the areas for each of 7 distinct types (or domains) of deprivation, which have been combined to produce an overall multiple deprivation measure (MDM) rank of the areas.

Deprivation quintiles

1 - Most deprived 2 3 4 5 - Least deprived

Disability

‘Disability’ is measured using ‘limiting long-standing illness’. Respondents are defined as having a limiting long standing illness if they have any physical or mental health conditions or illnesses lasting or expected to last for 12 months or more, and the condition(s) or illness(es) reduce their ability to carry out day to day activities.

Appendix B: Confidence intervals

A confidence interval represents the range of values in which the true population value is likely to lie. It is based on the sample estimate and the confidence level. As the percentages are calculated from a representative sample of the Northern Ireland population (aged 16 and over), a confidence interval can be calculated to estimate the level of uncertainty in the sample estimate.

95% confidence intervals were calculated for the headline figures. Table B1 summarizes the confidence intervals for attitudes to electric vehicle(s) in Northern Ireland.

Table B1: Confidence intervals for electric vehicles in Northern Ireland

Measure Estimate (%) Sample (n) 95% Confidence Range +/- Confidence Interval
% who currently own or have access to one or more car/van. 79 2,305 1.7 77.1-80.5%
% who currently own an electric vehicle. 5 2,302 0.9 4.1-5.9%
% who are likely to ‘definitely’ or ‘strongly consider’ an electric vehicle as their next purchase. 19 1,924 1.7 17.0-20.5%
% who intend to purchase an electric vehicle within the next 2 years. 24 324 4.7 19.7-29.0%
% who selected ‘grant towards purchase of an electric car’ as reason for encouraging purchase of an electric vehicle. 46 1,921 2.2 43.7-48.2%
% who selected ‘purchase price’ as reason for discouraging purchase of electric vehicle. 75 1,923 1.9 73.4-77.3%
% who think you would have to travel no more than 5 miles to reach a public charge point. 66 1,789 2.2 63.6-68.0%

Appendix C: Attitude to eCars in Northern Ireland Questionnaire

Attitude to electric vehicles

[eCARintro] There are now many models of cars and vans which are fully electric or a combination of electric and petrol/diesel known as hybrids. The following questions are about the likelihood of you purchasing either a fully electric vehicle and your knowledge about electric vehicles and how they charge.

[eCAR1] Do you currently own or have access to a car or van? INTERVIEWER: INCLUDE ANY PROVIDED BY EMPLOYERS IF NORMALLY AVAILABLE FOR PRIVATE USE. EXCLUDE ANY USED SOLELY FOR THE CARRIAGE OF GOODS.

  1. Yes, own/have access to a car/van which I can drive
  2. Yes, own/have access to more than one car/van which I can drive
  3. No, I have a driving licence but do not have access to car/van
  4. No, I don’t have a driving licence but I am currently learning to drive
  5. No, I don’t have a driving licence → [RELINT]

[ECAR1a] Do you currently or have you previously owned an electric vehicle? 1. Currently own 2. Previously owned 3. Have never owned

[eCAR2] How likely are you to buy an electric vehicle as your next vehicle? INTERVIEWER: IF THE RESPONDENT ALREADY OWNS AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE, THIS QUESTION REFERS TO THEIR NEXT POTENTIAL PURCHASE.

  1. My next purchase will definitely be an electric vehicle
  2. I would strongly consider an electric vehicle for my next purchase
  3. I would be unlikely to consider an electric vehicle for my next purchase → [eCAR4]
  4. I would not consider an electric vehicle for my next purchase → [eCAR4]

[eCAR3] If so, when do you think you would be likely to purchase an electric vehicle? Would it be… IF THE RESPONDENT ALREADY OWNS AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE, THIS QUESTION REFERS TO THEIR NEXT POTENTIAL PURCHASE

  1. Within the next 2 years
  2. Between 2 and 5 years
  3. Between 5 and 10 years
  4. or over 10 years?

[eCAR4] Please indicate which of the following options, if any, would encourage you to buy an electric vehicle..

1.Environmentally friendly 2.A grant towards purchase of an electric vehicle. 3.Low overall running costs 4.Availability and locations of the 337 public network charge points 5.Increased charging speed at public network charge points 6.Lower costs for electric compared to petrol/diesel fuel 7.Increasing vehicle range from one charge (from approx. 80 to 250 miles) 8.Grants to install a home charger 9.Grants per socket to install a workplace charger 10.Better visibility of the location of EV Chargers, improved signage. 11.Other → [eCAR4oth] 12.None?

[eCAR4oth] Please specify any other reasons

[eCAR5] Please indicate which of the following options, if any, would discourage you from buying an electric vehicle.

CODE ALL THAT APPLY

  1. Need to recharge your vehicle
  2. Vehicle range from a single charge (now up to 250 miles)
  3. Purchase price
  4. The vehicle performance
  5. Availability and locations of the 337 public network charge points
  6. Difficulty installing a home charge point as I have no driveway
  7. I don’t know enough about electric vehicles to make the change from petrol/diesel
  8. Other → [eCAR5oth]
  9. None?

[eCAR5oth] Please specify any other reasons

[eCAR6] In addition to the option of installing a home charge point when purchasing an electric vehicle, there are also 337 public charge points across Northern Ireland. From anywhere in NI, what do you think is the furthest you would ever have to travel to reach one of these public charge points..

  1. No more than 5 miles
  2. No more than 10 miles
  3. No more than 15 miles
  4. No more than 25miles
  5. No more than 50 miles
  6. More than 50 miles?

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