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Britain's EV ownership gender imbalance: A poll of more than 2,000 electric car drivers revealed that only one in ten women are driving battery-powered vehicles. Credit: Shutterstock[/caption]
According to a recent survey, there is now a significant gender gap in the ownership of electric vehicles in Britain.
Only one in ten women drive battery-powered vehicles, according to a survey of more than 2,000 EV drivers.
Nearly a third of drivers in the study by independent EV charging app Bonnet said that their household income is above £81,000, indicating that households with higher incomes are far more likely to acquire an EV.
Patrick Reich, chief executive of Bonnet, said: 'These new findings suggest that EV owners are currently mostly male and from high-income households – with only one in ten drivers surveyed identifying as women.
'This is a gap that we need to bridge as EV ownership needs to work for everyone.'
Ginny Buckley, the founder of EV-dedicated website Electrifying.com, said one of the potential reasons behind the gender gap could be that women feel less safe when using public chargers.
'We know that women directly influence 85 per cent of all car buying decisions and 46 per cent of driving licence holders in the UK identify as female, so the clear gender imbalance in electric car ownership is something that both industry and legislators need to take seriously,' Buckley explained.
'Everyone - regardless of their gender - should feel comfortable making the switch to electric and this can't be done without addressing drivers' concerns.
'For example, our own data tells us that nearly 25 per cent of people have felt unsafe when charging in public.
'This is clearly a huge issue, particularly for women, as plugging in an electric car should be as safe, easy and reliable as refilling it with fuel.'