Motorists' misconceptions of electric vehicles (EVs) are stopping UK motorists considering to make the switch for their next vehicle, according to a new study.

Select Car Leasing’s study, conducted across a sample of 1,200 UK motorists, found that 60% of the UK are still unlikely to consider an electric car for their next vehicle.

However, many people aren’t considering electric vehicles due to misconceptions that “simply aren’t true”, it concluded.

The biggest misconceptions around electric vehicles were found to be:

There’s too few charging stations

Almost 47% of those who were unlikely to consider an electric vehicle stated that ‘charging stations are still a little hard to find’.

However, the charging infrastructure has been built up across the world and it is now predicted that there could be as many as 14 million charging stations globally by 2030.

In the UK, the number of charge points has almost tripled between 2013 and 2017.

Electric vehicles aren’t good for long journeys

Two in five people stated that a main limitation of electric vehicles was that ‘the slow recharge time meant that they weren’t suitable for long journeys.

In 2011 the median range for electric cars was 73 miles, by 2017 this had increased to 114 miles, but with some vehicles being able to do as much as 335 miles.

If you stick to the recommended guidance of having 15 minutes break for every two hours of driving, you should comfortably be able to manage road trips.

There isn’t enough choice

Two in five people who wouldn’t consider an electric car stated that the limited choice of make and model were a factor.

This is becoming less and less true every year, while this is still a comparatively new market, the number of models available is increasing every year, as is the variety.

Electric cars are too expensive

Two-in-five people stated that they feel that electric vehicles are too expensive to buy. While the purchase price of electric vehicles still tends to be more expensive than their traditional fuel counterpart, there are other factors that bring the overall cost down.

To begin with, most countries have tax incentives for electric vehicles, with the  UK offering up to 35% up to £4,500.

Electric cars aren’t as reliable and have worse performance

A total of 27% of people said that the lack of garages that can service or repair electric vehicles was a factor. As electric vehicles are still in their comparative infancy, this issue will be solved as electric vehicles become more widespread.

Similarly, almost one in five saw the battery performance in hot and cold weather as a limitation. While electric vehicles do experience performance loss in very cold weather, they also have some clear advantages over traditionally fuelled vehicles.