The government must take urgent action to help drivers switch to electric cars and tackle misinformation around the vehicles.
The warning comes as new industry figures show buyers are starting to move away from vehicles, which are charged from the network. The vehicles' market share fell from 16.5 percent of sales at the end of last year to 14.7 percent in January.
A combination of higher purchasing costs, insufficient charging infrastructure and mixed messages are deterring some people from switching to electric motors, peers have warned.
The report from the Committee on Environment and Climate Change calls on ministers to give consumers confidence to switch away from petrol and diesel cars.
One option he suggested is to incentivize the purchase of used electric vehicles by creating a standard assessment of the state's industry and the likely future degradation of its batteries.
Other recommendations included ensuring the rollout of electric vehicle charging infrastructure is not delayed by “outdated regulation” and taking steps to address “misinformation” about electric motors.
Baroness Parminter, who chaired the inquiry, said: “Surface transport is the largest CO2 emitting sector in the UK, with passenger cars responsible for more than half of those emissions.
“The evidence we receive shows that the government must do more – and quickly – to get people to adopt electric vehicles.
“If it does not follow our recommendations, the UK will miss out on the significant benefits of improved air quality and will be left behind on the slow track to tackling climate change.”
Electric cars run on green energy like solar panels
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Electric vehicles are more expensive to purchase than their petrol and diesel equivalents, and there is an “insufficient range of affordable electric vehicles”, according to the report.
The initial cost of electric vehicles, including second-hand ones, is “a significant barrier to consumer adoption,” the committee said.
Peers described the UK's removal of purchase incentives to support private buyers as “premature”.
They also suggested that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's speech in which he announced a delay to the ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 to 2035 – in which he said achieving net zero “is going to be difficult” – It was an example of “emphasizing costs without emphasizing benefits.”
Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “For many people, an electric car offers the prospect of a cheap motor once they leave the showroom.
“The key is the charging process, especially when drivers are away from home.
“Connecting to a public charging point has to be as simple and direct as going to a gasoline and diesel sales station, and at the moment the multitude of systems and rates offered mean that this is not the case.
“Convenience and consistency must trump complexity.”
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said on Monday that one million new pure battery electric cars were registered in the UK in January.
He warned that market growth is currently dependent on businesses and fleets, and urged the Treasury to use next month's Budget to temporarily halve VAT on purchases of new electric vehicles.
The government announced on Monday that schools in England will be able to apply for grants to purchase and install electric vehicle chargers.
State-funded schools and other learning institutions will have access to a grant providing up to 75 per cent of the cost of installing chargers, with funding available of up to £2,500 per plug.
The Department of Transportation was contacted for comment.
