UK automotive executives expect that battery electric vehicles will dominate the marketplace by 2025 and predict diesel technology will be phased out, according to KPMG’s Global Automotive Executive Survey 2017.

The report revealed that 62% of UK automotive executives view diesel technology as a ’thing of the past’, expecting the traditional powertrain technology to eventually vanish from the manufacturers’ portfolio.

Meanwhile, 93% of UK automotive executives are planning to invest in the technology for battery electric vehicles over the next five years. For the first time, battery electric vehicle technology has overtaken connectivity and digitalisation as the key trend in this year’s survey.

"Improvements in the cost and range of battery technology, coupled with growing concern over the emission of both carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides from diesel engines, means that almost the whole automotive industry believes that the mass adoption of electric cars will happen during the next decade," said John Leech, UK head of automotive at KPMG.

The survey also found that 74% of UK automotive executives think that by 2025, more than half of car owners today will not want to own a vehicle, as self-driving technology and mobility as a service will take priority.

Leech believes the UK is particularly suited to the early adoption of self-driving cars, as it has a relatively dense urban population which, when coupled with high fuel prices, means that so-called ’robot taxis’ offer a great cost saving to the UK public.