EV owners more satisfied with their cars than owners of traditional fuel vehicles
From a higher initial upfront cost to range anxiety, there are a host of concerns prospective car buyers in Britain have about opting in for EVs. But how do people who have already purchased a battery powered vehicle feel about their vehicle? And how do their attitudes compare to those who drive traditional fuel or internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles?
YouGov BrandIndex, which tracks consumer sentiments towards hundreds of brands across a host of metrics (one of which being Satisfaction), also allows for a broader industry-wide perspective. So rather than just being able to see how customers feel about a Toyota or a Ford, we can also look at how customers view the automotive sector at large. Creating YouGov Profiles-based audience filters of the vehicle type consumers possess, we can see how EV owners feel about the car industry compared to owners of traditional fuel/ICE vehicles.
EV owners are noticeably more likely than ICE owners to say they are a satisfied customer of any of the given car brands (7.2% vs 5.2%). It is worth noting that EV owners are somewhat more likely to say they are a dissatisfied customer of a car brand (1.1% vs 0.7%). On a net basis, the Satisfaction score among EV owners stands at 6.1 compared to 4.5 among ICE owners.
The elevation in customer satisfaction levels among EV owners is particularly remarkable given that they are far less likely to feel that the automotive sector delivers good value for money. The net Value score – which is a measure of the percentage of people who feel a brand represents good value for money minus those who feel a brand represents poor value – among EV owners stands at 0.7 compared to 3.4 among those who own ICE vehicles as their primary ride.
It is worth reiterating that the score here represents the average for the entire industry rather than just a specific slice of the industry – i.e., EV owners have a lower average Value perception of all carmakers (whether EV-focused or otherwise). This could be because EV owners are likelier to have their perceptions coloured by the reality of the EV industry, and in spite of their greater Satisfaction levels, they have a lower propensity to feel that these types of vehicles present good value.
Methodology: YouGov BrandIndex collects data on thousands of brands every day. Satisfaction score is based on the questions: "Of which of the following car makers are you a satisfied customer?" and "Of which of the following car makers are you a dissatisfied customer?", and is delivered as a net score between -100 to +100. Scores are based on an sample size of 9529 British EV owners and 157478 British petrol or diesel car owners between April 2024 to April 2025.
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