The future is electric: next generation set to drive an EV as first car

A new YouGov survey of nearly 500 existing and prospective learner drivers in Britain, commissioned by the Motor Ombudsman, has revealed that nearly half (42%) of respondents would prefer their first car to be fully electric or in part electric i.e. a hybrid, after passing their driving test.

The research also found that male provisional licence holders are more likely than their female counterparts to want to adopt zero emission motoring when starting their vehicle ownership journey (30% versus 23% respectively).

With electric cars sparking the most interest amongst the next generation of full driving licence holders, the study showed that just a fifth (21%) of those polled would want to get behind the wheel of a petrol-only variant once they had lost their L-plates.

Just 6% of study participants said that they would opt for a diesel-engined vehicle once they passed.

The remaining 30% of those quizzed stated that they didn’t know what kind of car their preference would be once they gained independence on the road.

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The Motor Ombudsman asked learner drivers two other questions about the future of motoring in Britain.

As part of the survey, when asked if they were aware that a car should be serviced at least once a year, 75% of respondents said that they were familiar with this important part of routine vehicle maintenance.

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The results also showed that more females (79%) than males (71%), were the most up to speed with this form of best practice to keep a car in a roadworthy condition.

Regarding needing an MOT once a vehicle reaches three years of age, 77% of survey participants stated that they were aware of this.

Awareness of having to hold a valid certificate for a used car from its third birthday onwards was revealed as being fairly balanced between male and females (75% and 80% respectively). In contrast, awareness was lowest within the 18 to 24 age group at only 73%.  

Bill Fennell, Chief Ombudsman and Managing Director of the Motor Ombudsman, said: “With the nation’s appetite for zero emission motoring growing, and the green agenda becoming ever more prominent in the buying habits of consumers, it is interesting to see that a large proportion of existing and prospective learner drivers are set to follow suit when they get the keys to their own car.”

Are you a learner driver? What kind of first car do you want? Let us know in the comments below.