EV HOLIDAY HIRE

Hiring an electric car on holiday is a good opportunity to try one out say almost a quarter (23%) of car hire drivers (25% men and 21% women). According to a new Opinium survey of 2000 UK holidaymakers, on behalf of iCarhireinsurance.com, a leading provider of car hire excess insurance, almost one in seven car hirers (14%) would choose to hire an electric car rather than a petrol or diesel car; and 18% say they would choose an electric vehicle on holiday to “do their bit” for the environment. Almost one in ten (9%) say they are willing to pay a little bit extra to hire an electric car. Car hirers, however, did have concerns about electric vehicles, including charging the vehicle (35%), the driving range (26%) and almost a fifth (22%) are put off as they have never driven one before. “We know the future is electric and it look likes drivers are increasingly trying to embrace this, albeit in a cautious way,” said Ernesto Suarez, founder and CEO of iCarhireinsurance.com. “Hiring a car is a great way to try out this new technology, compared to a 30-minute test drive at a dealership. Drivers have a chance to really spend some time learning about about electric vehicles and see if one might fit into their lifestyle. “However, we should say that there are only limited electric cars available to hire in the UK at the moment, and mostly hybrids rather than pure electric. Europe and the US have a greater selection of electric cars, but some of the big brands have said they're working on getting a fleet operating in the UK, so watch this space,” said Ernesto Suarez.