Key Findings

• Over one in five women would pick an electric car to be more environmentally friendly.
• One in nine women would pick an electric car to reduce running costs.
• One in 33 women would pick an electric car as they can charge it overnight.
• More than a quarter of women admit to not knowing enough about electric cars.
• More than one in four women think electric cars are too expensive.
• One in six women believe there are not enough charging points.
• Women are more likely to consider an EV to become more environmentally friendly.
• Women admit they’re less likely to consider an EV because they don’t know enough about them.
• Men are more likely to consider an EV to reduce running costs. 
• Men know which make/model they want (88.2% more than women).
• Men are more concerned about having the latest technology (51.7% more than women).
• Women are more considerate when it comes to being environmentally friendly (20.7% more than men).

Here at Leasing Options, we wanted to reach out to female drivers to find out whether they’d consider an electric car when they next come to switch their car, or whether they still were finding some blockers preventing them from getting behind the wheel.

To find out, we conducted two separate surveys, one through our website and another, much larger one, through an external survey tool, to give us a broader understanding of women’s feelings toward electric cars and see if there were any correlations between the two surveys.

Why Women Are Considering The Switch To Electric Driving?

Top Electric Car Perks For Women

1. Become more environmentally friendly (21.8%)
2. To reduce running costs (11.1%)

Let’s start with why women are considering an electric car for their next vehicle. 

According to our survey of 2,000 people, the biggest factor would be their green benefits, with over one in five women stating that they’d consider an electric car to be more environmentally friendly. 

Electric vehicles have no tailpipe emissions, and even when accounting for the electricity used for charging, electric vehicles typically have a smaller carbon footprint than gasoline cars. 

The second biggest factor was “to reduce running costs”, which one in nine women picked as their main reason for switching. With petrol and diesel prices continuing to soar, and news publications highlighting in early June that the average cost of filling a tank of petrol has hit the £100 mark, the charging costs of an EV are a huge pull, with the average overnight charge at home costing only around £15.10 on average.

Speaking of overnight charging, one in 33 women said their main consideration for switching to electric would buy the benefit of being able to charge their car while they sleep. Electric cars, a typical 60kWh battery, take just under eight hours to charge fully using a 7kW charging point.

Blockers Preventing Women From Driving Electric

Top Three Electric Car Concerns For Women

1. I don’t know enough about electric cars (26.1%)
2. Electric cars are too expensive (26.0%)
3. Not enough charging points (15.0%)

Next, let’s delve into some of the blockers that are preventing women from switching to electric driving. 

Our survey data reveals that more than a quarter of women (26.1%) admit the biggest blocker when it comes to switching to electric is that they simply do not know enough about electric cars. 

Electric cars have been around for many years now, and are becoming more and more popular every day, so the fact that women are still finding it hard to fully understand the cars and the technology is surprising. Here at Leasing Options, we have several guides surrounding electric cars that are perfect for those either new or are looking to switch, to electric. 

A similar amount of women surveyed (26.0%) stated that they’d been discouraged by electric cars as they’re currently too expensive. While in general, EVs can be seen as more expensive than traditional petrol or diesel cars, with more and more cars available on the market, in 2022 you can purchase or lease an electric car for an affordable price. For example, the Fiat 500 Electric has a starting price of £19,995 (£312.99 p/m to lease), which is the same price as a new, mid-spec Renault Clio or Volkswagen Polo. You can also opt for an Audi A3 or MINI Clubman for a similar lease price. 

Another big concern for one in six women is that they feel that there are not enough charging points. 

Age Breakdown: Which Women Want What?

Top Three Differences When Looking At Ages

1. Older drivers have more concerns overall compared to young drivers.
2. Younger drivers are more concerned about having the latest tech over the benefits to the environment.
3. All drivers are having trouble affording to buy a new electric car but would benefit from the reduced running costs.

The survey we conducted highlights some really interesting findings once we break down the responses into age ranges.

The first thing that becomes very apparent is that the older generation has a lot more concerns when it comes to electric cars. Some of their biggest concerns revolve around the practicality of EVs, with worries over not having enough charging points and the batteries not having a high enough range. However, they’re also the age ranges (45-54, 55-64 and, in first place, 65+) that responded with “I don’t know enough about electric cars” too.

Another standout finding is that younger women drivers had the lowest response percentage for the environment being the most important reason for switching to EVs, but were the highest response percentage out of those who picked the latest tech as the main reason.

With the recent price of living increase, it’s hardly surprising to see that all women drivers, no matter their age, are all finding electric cars too expensive to afford in the current climate, with “cars being too expensive” coming only marginally behind “not knowing enough about EVs” in our main reason for not considering an EV survey. It’s also logical then to see that “EVs’ lower running costs” is one of the more favoured reasons for opting for an electric car. 

Women Vs Men On Considering Electric

Top Three Differences In Electric Car Benefits Between Men And Women

1. Men know which make/model they want (88.2% more than women).
2. Men are more concerned about having the latest technology (51.7% more than women).
3. Women are more considerate when it comes to being environmentally friendly (20.7% more than men).

So what do men prioritise more compared to women?

Well, the biggest difference we can see when looking at the survey data is that it appears that men know what electric car they want, with 88.2% more men wanting a particular make/model as the main reason for considering an electric car.

Men also seem to be more concerned with having the latest technology, with tech being selected as the main reason 51.7% more by men than women.

Finally, the data shows that when it comes to the importance of becoming more eco-friendly, both men and women selected the environment as the main reason for considering an electric car. However, it was women that placed 20.7% more importance over men.

If you do have any concerns about electric cars but are interested in learning more, check out our bank of useful and informative electric leasing guides, which will tell you everything you need to know when considering an electric car for your next motor. We also have an incredibly helpful team here at Leasing Options that are ready to answer any particular questions you may have.