The government’s push to make people buy electric vehicles has not worked on the countryside. The UK fieldsports community remains strongly committed to diesel and petrol pickups.
That’s the conclusion of a survey of Fieldsports Channel viewers, with reliability, off-road capability, towing and brand reputation driving purchase decisions. Awareness of electric and hybrid pickups is high, but confidence is low: most respondents are negative about electric pickups and unlikely to consider one as their next vehicle. The main barriers are limited range, battery life, charging time, high purchase cost, weak charging infrastructure in rural areas and concerns over towing and off-road performance. Hybrid appears to have greater potential than fully electric, but only if manufacturers can prove diesel-like capability, long range, real-world reliability and lower running costs.
Based on 144 responses, this fieldsports-led audience uses their 4×4 pickups mainly as practical working and lifestyle vehicles for hunting, shooting, fishing, towing, off-road use and personal transport. Buyers care most about reliability, off-road capability, brand reputation, comfort, towing capacity and purchase price. The makes and models they mentioned most are: Toyota Hilux, Mitsubishi L200, Isuzu D-Max, Ford Ranger, Nissan Navara and VW Amarok.
They showed a clear preference for traditional diesel/petrol pickups and significant scepticism around electric models. Electric pickups are widely known about, but poorly trusted. Most respondents are either ‘negative’ or ‘very negative’ about electric pickups, with the main barriers being range, battery lifespan, charging time, purchase cost, charging infrastructure, resale value and concerns about towing/off-road performance.
A significant minority would consider hybrid if it could prove real-world reliability, diesel-like towing/off-road capability, long range, lower running costs and practical charging.
Replacement cycles are fairly long. The highest proportion of Fieldsports Channel viewers replace their vehicles ‘only when necessary’, and most spend £10,000-£25,000. Mileage is typically moderate to high. The median reported mileage is around 12,000 miles per year, with many clustered between 10,000 and 15,000 miles.