The latest data for October show pure battery cars made up 15pc of new car sales, up from 6.6pc a year earlier. Diesel slid to 6.6pc of sales, while petrol purchases contributed 46pc, according to figures from trade body the SMMT.

However, there are concerns over access to charging points, especially for those without a driveway or garage, as well as limitations for those who make long journeys. Even the fastest chargers take at least 30 minutes to fully charge a vehicle, although these timings continue to fall every year.

The Government will ban the sale of new petrol or diesel vehicles from 2030, while hybrid cars can be sold until 2035.

Autovia polls its readers when they enter a competition or register with titles such as Auto Express, asking them questions about their likes and interests, including future purchases, and asks a few hundred thousand people a year.

Separately, UK engine-making fell 35pc last month as a global shortage of computer chips continued to wreak havoc on the industry.

While chip makers are ramping up production, they are focusing their efforts on the high-margin semiconductor chips used in smartphones and computers rather than the cheaper units used in cars.

The chaos has created a strange market for second-hand cars, where some models are selling for more money than their new list prices.