With the UK’s EV fleet passing two million vehicles[1], new research reveals that EV drivers are finding the charging experience easier than expected – but the reality varies significantly depending on whether motorists can charge at home.
The survey of 500 UK EV owners, commissioned by temporary car insurance experts Tempcover, explores attitudes to costs and infrastructure confidence. While the overall sentiment is positive, the data reveals a clear divide between homeowners and renters.
The Home Ownership Advantage
Over half of EV drivers (57%) said the charging experience has been easier than they originally expected, yet tenants are more than twice as likely as homeowners (15% vs 6%) to say it has been harder than anticipated.
In practice, 85% of all EV motorists surveyed describe the process of charging as ‘easy’. However, while this satisfaction rate climbs to 89% among homeowners, it drops to 72% for renters.
Home charging access is a key factor: nine in 10 homeowners (90%) have home charging access, compared to just 69% of renters. Among drivers who currently have home charging installed, nearly a third (32%) said EV ownership would be difficult without it.
For renters, the path to home charging is complicated by both administrative and legal hurdles. While high installation costs are a challenge cited across all respondents (36%), tenants also point to landlord or housing provider restrictions (27%) as an obstacle. Renters also cited concerns over higher electricity bills (19%) and navigating multiple permissions (18%).
For homeowners, the challenges are primarily practical. Installation costs remain the top concern (38%), followed by the need for electrical upgrades (22%).
Across all respondents, fire and electrical safety concerns (18%) and installation complexity (14%) also feature among the broader challenges cited.
Renters are twice as likely as homeowners (18% vs 9%) to use a public charging station on a daily basis, while over a third (34%) of all EV drivers surveyed use public charging at least once a week.
As the network scales up, the day-to-day experience of finding a charger remains mixed. While 29% of drivers frequently face challenges finding an available charger, (32%) say they rarely or never experience issues.
When asked to identify the biggest challenges on the public network, the top three responses were chargers being occupied or unavailable (34%), the cost of public charging (34%), and units being out of order or unreliable (29%).
Running costs have also proved higher than expected for many new adopters. Nearly half (46%) of EV drivers found that the costs of both home and public charging turned out to be higher than anticipated after making the switch.
Despite the additional charging challenges they face, renters emerge as the most optimistic group about the UK’s EV future.
Seven in 10 tenants (70%) say they are confident that the UK will establish sufficient charging provision – spanning public networks and residential solutions for flats and shared parking – to meet demand by 2030, compared to 59% of homeowners.
Claire Wills-McKissick, temporary car insurance expert at Tempcover, added: “Those who rely most on the public charging network are also among the most optimistic about the future – suggesting that regular experience of public infrastructure may be building rather than denting confidence in what’s coming.”
“What the data does show is that the experience of EV ownership can look quite different depending on your housing situation. Renters are making it work, but often have to navigate more hurdles to get there – and closing that gap will be key to making the EV transition work for everyone.”
For those considering the switch to EV ownership, temporary car insurance means you can borrow a friend or family member’s EV and find out whether it works for you, without touching their annual policy.
Leave a Comment