Key points

Electric vehicles in Northern Ireland

  • A quarter (25%) of all respondents would ‘definitely’ or ‘strongly consider’ buying an electric vehicle as their next purchase, down from 33% in 2022/23 and 38% in 2021/22.

  • Of those respondents, 82% intend to purchase an electric vehicle within the next 5 years.

  • The top three reasons that would encourage purchase of an electric vehicle include: a grant towards purchase of an electric car (47%), low overall running costs (46%) and grants to install a home charger (44%).

  • The most commonly given reason for discouraging the purchase of an electric vehicle is purchase price, given by three quarters (75%) of respondents.

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.

Evidence of momentum building in this transition can now clearly be seen, latest figures published in June 2024 by the Department for Transport show in excess of 27,000 electric vehicles registered in Northern Ireland. Commercially led electric vehicle charge point provision has developed significantly over same period, with many new Charge Point Operators, providing workplace and publicly available EV charging opportunities. These change points can be found in a growing variety of places, from on-street locations and refuelling hubs along the strategic road network, to shopping centres, hotels, schools, sports clubs, or leisure centers across Northern Ireland. The availability of convenient charging at home and at the strategic locations, alongside increased vehicle availability and range capability of electric vehicles is helping to encourage people to switch away from petrol and diesel cars and vans.

The introduction of the Vehicle Emissions Trading Schemes to Northern Ireland in January 2025 will encourage the sale of an increasing number of Zero Emission Vehicles through mandated annual targets leading up to the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2035. This will consolidate the progress made to date, provide the further confidence needed to attract prospective electric vehicle owners, create a vibrant second-hand market reducing vehicle costs and ultimately drive down emissions in the Transport Sector.

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 2023/24 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.

Attitude towards electric vehicles in Northern Ireland

Part 1: Access to car or van

To provide context, 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? (%)

Three quarters of respondents surveyed had a driving licence and access to at least one car or van. In contrast, just under one in five respondents (18%) do not have a driving licence and those respondents were not asked any further questions on this module.

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

When asked about their likelihood to purchase an electric vehicle, 6% of respondents said their next purchase would ‘definitely’ be an electric vehicle, while 19% of respondents said they would ‘strongly consider an electric vehicle’. Just under half of the respondents said they would ‘not consider an electric vehicle’ for their next purchase.

Figure 3: Historical trend for likelihood to purchase an electric vehicle as your next vehicle (%)

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. In 2023/24 survey, 25% of respondents said they would ‘definitely’ or ‘strongly consider’ purchasing an electric vehicle. This is a decrease from 2022/23 when 33% and 2021/22 when 38% of respondents said the same.

In contrast, the proportion of respondents who said they would not consider purchasing an electric vehicle has increased from 38% in 2022/23 to 48% in 2023/24.

Figure 4: How likely are you to purchase an electric vehicle as your next vehicle? (by respondent group) (%)

Thirty-one percent of respondents aged 25 to 34 said they would ‘definitely’ or ‘strongly consider’ an electric vehicle as their next vehicle purchase compared compared to 14% of those aged 65+ years.

Those with no disability (26%) were more likely than those with a disability (20%) to purchase an electric vehicle as their next vehicle purchase.

There was no significant difference between male and female respondents or those living in urban and rural areas in relation to likelihood of purchasing an electric vehicle as their next vehicle purchase.

Figure 5: How likely are you to purchase an electric vehicle as your next vehicle? (by local government district) (%)

*due to small sample size, figures for Fermanagh and Omagh are not available.

Forty-one percent of respondents in Mid Ulster said they would ‘definitely’ or ‘strongly consider’ an electric vehicle as their next vehicle purchase the highest of all LGDs.

The council areas with the lowest proportion of respondents who said they would ‘definitely’ or ‘strongly consider’ an electric vehicle as their next vehicle purchase was Causeway Coast and Glens (17%).

Figure 6: How likely are you to purchase an electric vehicle as your next vehicle? (by Deprivation quintile) (%)

Those living in the least deprived areas (30%) were considerably more likely to say that they would ‘definitely’ or ‘strongly consider’ an electric vehicle as their next purchase than those living in the most deprived areas (18%).

Figure 7: 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.

A quarter of respondents said they are likely to buy an electric vehicle within the next two years, while over half (57%) of respondents said they are likely to purchase the vehicle within the next two to five years, and a further 15% said between five and ten years.

Figure 8: 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’ (47%) was the most frequently given reason that would encourage respondents to purchase an electric vehicle, followed by ‘Low overall running costs’ (46%) and ‘grants to install a home charger’ (44%).

However, just under one quarter of respondents (23%) claimed that nothing would encourage them to buy an electric vehicle.

Figure 9: 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 purchasing an electric vehicle purchase 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’ (49%), ‘availability and location of public network charge points’ (44%) and ‘vehicle range from one charge’ (40%). Only 5% of respondents said that nothing would discourage them purchasing an electric vehicle.

Figure 10: 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. In Northern Ireland, no one should have to travel further than 10 miles in order to reach a publicly accessible charge point.

Three-quarters of respondents (75%) believe that they are within 10 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. A further 26% believe the nearest public charger to their home lies somewhere between 15 - 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 2023 - March 2024, 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. The findings reported for 2023/24 are based on 2,439 respondents, aged 16 and over.

The number of respondents who answered each question, i.e. the base number, is stated in the commentary and/or the associated chart. 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.

Weighting

Analysis of the Attitude to electric vehicles in Northern Ireland module of the CHS has been weighted for non-response.

A chi square goodness-of-fit test showed that the CHS sample was not representative of the population by age and sex when compared with the 2022 Mid Year Population Estimates for Northern Ireland NISRA 31 August 2023. As a result, separate weights were produced for age and sex, and combinations of these variables.

Non-response weighting sometimes increases standard errors, although the impact tends to be fairly small, i.e. the adjustment may be less or greater than 1, but will generally be reasonably close to 1. In the case of the walking, cycling and public transport modules of the CHS, the values of the adjustment for all three weighting systems are so close to one, it is not necessary to take account of this in the calculation of standard error and confidence intervals.

While weighting for non-response (also called post-stratification) should reduce bias, it must be acknowledged that it will not eliminate bias. The reasons individuals choose to take part in surveys are complex and depend on lots of factors specific to the individual. As a result, the non-response biases in surveys are likely to be complex. Post-stratification works on the assumption that, by aligning the survey to the population along a small number of dimensions such as age, gender and MDM, many of these complex biases will reduce. However, it would be misleading to suggest that they will be eliminated.

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 are likely to ‘definitely’ or ‘strongly consider’ an electric vehicle as their next purchase. 25 1,998 2 23-27%
% whose next purchase will definitely be an electric vehicle 6 1,998 2 4-8%
% who own or have access to a car/van which I can drive. 75 2,427 2 73-77%

  • The 95% confidence interval for respondents who ‘own or have access to a car/van which I can drive’ is 75% +/- 2%. This means that there is a 95% probability that the proportion of the Northern Ireland adult population who have access to a car/van they can drive lies between 73% and 77%.

  • The 95% confidence interval for respondents who will ‘definitely’ select an electric vehicle as their next purchase is 6% +/- 2%. This means that there is a 95% probability that the proportion of the Northern Ireland adult population who will ‘definitely’ select an electric vehicle as their next purchase lies between 4% and 8%.

  • The 95% confidence interval for respondents who are likely to ‘definitely’ or ‘strongly consider’ an electric vehicle as their next purchase is 25%. This means that there is a 95% probability that the proportion of the Northern Ireland adult population who are likely to ‘definitely’ or ‘strongly consider’ an electric vehicle as their next purchase lies between 23% and 27%.

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]

[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 one 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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