Fuel crisis accelerates drivers' plans to go electric reveals WhoCanFixMyCar survey

Stephen Wright, 2 years ago

3 min read

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BMW i3

Over a third of drivers plan to switch to an electric car sooner than originally intended as a result of the recent fuel crisis according to a new survey by WhoCanFixMyCar

The poll by the UK’s largest independent online car maintenance marketplace, which receives up to 100,000 new MOT, servicing and repair requests every month from drivers, revealed that 37.7 per cent of motorists quizzed at www.whocanfixmycar.com would be choosing a battery-powered electric model when it came time to select their next car.

The results of the study come as new figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association revealed that nearly one in five vehicles sold across the European Union during the third quarter of 2021 was electric (among them the Volkswagen e-Golf pictured above).

Last month, many parts of the UK were gripped by a petrol crisis fueled by fears of shortages, resulting in motorists facing huge queues at petrol stations with many forecourts ending up running dry. Petrol prices since then have soared and are currently at their highest level for nine years, with the average cost of a litre of petrol now at 139.5p according to the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy.

Al Preston, Co-Founder of WhoCanFixMyCar, explained: “The results of our recent survey come as no surprise. The switch by motorists to electric has been growing for some time (last month electric car sales outnumbered those of diesels for the first time ever) and last month’s fuel crisis has clearly accelerated plans by an ever-growing number of Brits to choose an electric car next time they decide to change their vehicle.”

Launched in 2011, WhoCanFixMyCar has processed over three million car maintenance requests from drivers to date. It has also recently created a dedicated section on its website for drivers to compare service, maintenance and repair prices for their electric car.