Which brands do consumers trust to deliver electric vehicles?
Who do you trust to develop electric cars?
Auto Trader found the proportion of consumers who plan to buy an electric car has almost tripled. But do they trust tech giants or car manufacturers to build them and sell at a decent price?
As part of its bi-annual market report of the car industry, Auto Trader quizzed British consumers about their attitude to electric vehicles (EV's).
It found 71 percent are considering buying an EV for their next car, up from 25 percent in September 2017. The main obstacle stopping mass adoption is concerns over price, particularly the upfront cost.
Auto Trader reports that the industry is working to overcome this by collaborating on developing shared electric platforms like Volkswagen's modular electric drive matrix (MEB). The VW I.D. will be the first EV based on this platform, due in 2020.
The research shows even stronger support for electric vehicles than Roy Morgan research on Australian car buyers. It showed a majority of Australian drivers, 51.6 percent, 'would seriously consider buying' a hybrid vehicle.
It showed the greatest growth over the last three years came from an interest in fully electric vehicles, up by 9.7 percent to 36.2 percent.
The Auto Trader survey also found that brands and retailers who explain how the new hi-tech features benefit the buyer see higher conversion rates, higher prices and higher return visits for both maintenance and next car purchases.
Even though they are perceived to be more innovative that car manufacturers, technology brands are less trusted to develop autonomous or electric vehicles.
Google, Dyson and Apple top the poll in being seen as an innovative brand, but along with Amazon, make up the bottom four positions in being trusted to develop an electric car.
Mercedes-Benz, Audi, BMW, Ford and in 5th position, Toyota are the most trusted car manufacturers to develop an EV.
Tesla is near to the bottom, with only Kia, Seat, Skoda, Fiat and Citroen less trusted of car manufacturers to develop an electric car.