No Driver Left Behind: Ensuring an accessible and equitable transition to electric vehicles

For over a century, women have had a poor relationship with cars after being excluded, ignored, patronised and mansplained to by brands, marketing and the industry.

And so, when electric vehicles (EVs) came about, there was hope that their more lifestyle-oriented stories and focus on sustainability would be an opportunity to improve this relationship. The electric transition is a once in a lifetime shift, and an incredible opportunity to broaden the appeal of cars to a wider cross section of society, including women. But we had a suspicion the gender gap was actually widening. Quantitive research confirmed this problem - women were being left behind in the electric transition. Qualitative research told us the answer- women wanted to learn about electric cars in content they were already consuming... and so Auto Trader set about use the power of content to inform and empower women on their own electric journeys. A cross discipline effort on owned, earned and paid for channels covering both B2B and B2C audiences was launched - there isn't a quick fix to this problem and we'll be fighting this fight for years to come. However, initial results were incredibly positive with our No Driver Left Behind Report featuring on Women's Hour, in Marie Claire and Women's Health as well as being presented to all devolved nations of the UK and being referenced in government and wider industry content.