Motorists expect to continue using their local independent garage for servicing when they switch to electric cars, a new survey has found.

As electric vehicles become more and more popular, drivers are not as keen on swapping their independent garages for specialist workshops anytime soon.

The survey, by online car servicing provider Servicing Stop, found that 70% of motorists would prefer their local independent garage to handle electric cars, rather than take them to a specialist workshop.

Oly Richmond, CEO and founder of Servicing Stop, said: “I’m glad to see that drivers are sticking with independents in the masses and don’t plan on changing this anytime soon. It’s vital that all independent garages hit the books and start training in electric vehicles, we’ll be looking into training our network of over 1,500 garages soon enough as a way of ensuring we keep servicing affordable for drivers. Together we can ensure that main dealers do not continue to monopolise the servicing market.”

Mechanics must undertake a comprehensive electric training course to become qualified in servicing electric cars, adding both cost and risk to their operation.

The majority of motorists are still backing the move however as 63% of drivers agreed with the statement that the move to electric vehicles is a government incentive and therefore UK drivers who agree to the proposal should be able to go to normal garages like everyone else.

The survey also showed that more than half of drivers said they would be more inclined to purchase an electric vehicle if there were more financial incentives on offer including lower tax, deposit on a car or help towards charging.

Almost a quarter more said they could be persuaded if electric cars were more attractive and a further 14% said more public charging facilities were needed before the switch - some even said celebrity endorsement was needed on electric vehicles.