The EV market in Northern Ireland is growing.
Around 30,000 EVs are now on the road. So adoption is increasing, and interest seems to be rising.
On the surface, it looks like momentum. However, our recent FN Research White Paper titled ‘The Confidence Gap – EV Attitudes and Buying Behaviour in Northern Ireland‘ tells a more complicated story.
The reality behind the numbers
EVs still represent just 2.3% of all vehicles, which is below the UK average.
At the same time:
- Consideration has nearly doubled (from 19% to 38%)
- Yet 50% of drivers still say “not yet”
So its more a case of hesitation rather than outright rejection.
The insight
This is what we define as the EV Readiness Gap™.
The gap between:
- Rising interest
- And delayed action
Or more simply: People are open to EVs in principle, they’re just quite ready to commit.
What’s driving the gap?
At first glance, it does look like a familiar story:
- Infrastructure
- Cost
- Range
But we discovered through talking directly to local drivers a different story. Those are surface barriers. Underneath them sits something much more powerful: It’s a lack of confidence
As highlighted in our report, its not rejection, rather drivers are playing a longer term waiting game:
The commercial implication
If you read the market at face value, you assume:
- Demand is building steadily
- Adoption will naturally follow
But that misses the reality. Because this market isn’t constrained by demand, it’s actually constrained by confidence.
What market intelligence should be doing
This is where deeper market intelligence matters. Not just tracking growth but providing the insight and understanding into the motivators behind these numbers and trends.
We looked at
- Why people are delaying
- What would move them forward
- Where the real opportunity sits
Because growth will be about unlocking action rather than just a simple awareness issue.
So what are the answers to these important questions? Part 2 – Whats really driving consumer hesitation and Part 3 – Closing the Confidence Gap to Unlock Growth of this series investigates further
If you need to understand your sector in more detail, drop us an email at fiona@fnresearch.co.uk for an initial chat.