Some of the biggest fears and myths about driving electric cars have been revealed at a time when sales of EVs have risen by 151 per cent.

October’s figures show that electric sales are surging, but according to a survey by Hyundai it is a surge of another kind which is worrying almost one in five drivers, fearing a lightning storm could put them at risk if they were in an EV. The fears have been addressed in the survey, but it shows some of the work still to be done to convince a sceptical nation that EVs are safe and the way forward.

The survey of petrol and diesel drivers shows that 22 per cent don’t feel safe driving an electric car, 18 per cent don’t feel safe driving through an electric storm and 12 per cent would worry about charging their mobile phone in an EV.

Sylvie Childs, Senior product manager at Hyundai Motor UK, said: “It’s been fascinating to hear about some of the misconceptions that people still have about electric vehicles.

“We’ve all been told you don’t mix electricity with water, but when it comes to EVs there’s absolutely no extra risk of driving in a lightning storm – they are just as safe as a petrol or diesel car.

“Range anxiety is also an interesting one. When electric cars first came out the range was an issue we had to tackle, but these days you can get almost 300 miles on a single charge and this will increase further in time.

“The NEXO hydrogen fuel cell car can travel even further with a range of over 400 miles and takes less than five minutes to re-fuel with hydrogen.

“But despite these common misconceptions, our research, along with the growth in sales figures, shows there is a real appetite for low emission vehicles in the UK.

“It’s for us in the industry, working together with Government and electricity providers, to make sure drivers understand the reality of EV ownership.”

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