Traditional internal combustion powered vehicles account for over 95% of the UK & European market.
Until recently a fringe choice, the reality of electric plug-in vehicles soon becoming more mainstream was given a major prompt when GB & France governments announced this summer that no new petrol-only or diesel powered cars & vans will be sold after 2040 and both Germany and The Netherlands announced they were aiming for an earlier timing.
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Norway have declared that all forms of petrol and diesel vehicles will no longer be permitted to sell from 2020. In recent months most main car manufacturers have begun to confirm that all/most new models will have electric powertrains in the near future (2-3 years).
Aided by this backdrop and increased PR and coverage of global warming, for example it is estimated by Client Earth that more than 400,000 early deaths are caused each year by air pollution in Europe, the pace of change around vehicle usage and regulation has continued to step up – larger GB cities are announcing ULEV zones and the new T-charge on older diesel cars was introduced in London in October 2017.
The results of an early survey on the T-Charge conducted by BuyaCar.co.uk (n=1300) found that of those who travel to London regularly, many claim to have already switched to public transport in lieu of paying the T-Charge. Findings indicate more drivers are commuting into London, putting increased strain on public transport Diesel drivers (34%) were more likely to use public transport than petrol drivers (30%), and similarly diesel drivers were more likely to consider buying a new car (11%) than petrol drivers (7%)
So in November 2017 we ran our own series of questions to establish the State of the Nation in this greener landscape and to look at the UK population’s understanding and relationship with the evolving energy landscape. We ran the following questions on the Opinium nationally representative omnibus 
vehicle (http://opinium.co.uk) across 2 separate fieldwork periods in November 2017 (14th-16th, base n=2003 and 17th-23rd, base n=2004) and now share those top=line findings:
Q1: How concerned or unconcerned are you about C02, Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) and particulate emissions on the air-quality where you live? (n=2,003)
Q2: Where is energy provided to our national electricity grid from? (n=2,004)
Q3: Where is ‘green or sustainable energy’ provided to our national electricity grid from? (n=2,004)
Q4: You have probably begun to hear talk of ‘green or sustainable energy’, what is your understanding of this term? (n=2,003)
Q5: For your next vehicle for personal use, what type of engine are you seriously considering as your main choice? (n=2,003)
Air Quality:
Q1: How concerned or unconcerned are you about C02, Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) and particulate emissions on the air-quality where you live? (n=2,003)
2/3rds in London claim they are concerned (19% Very + 47% Fairly), more than 20% points higher than in GB overall.
With rising awareness & recent publicity surrounding air quality in our cities, especially in the capital, it is perhaps not surprising that 2/3rds of Londoners are concerned about air quality. Toxic air has been attributed for an annual death toll of 9,000 in the capital alone. By the 6th January 2017, London broke its annual air pollution limit for 2017, therefore it is not surprising that Londoners are more concerned about Air Quality then the rest of the UK.
Slightly under half of the rest of Great Britain (44%) claimed they were currently concerned about air quality. However, within the EV Industry and commentary & discussion from bodies such as the Energy Savings Trust, The Renewable Energy Association and Client Earth, it is clear councils and businesses are focussing much more on educating & engaging with other businesses, their own staff and local communities to try to tackle air quality issues – for example with car pooling and home working policies, backed by uptake of government grants for Work and Home Charge schemes