After five years of educating domestic and professional users on the environmental, health and performance benefits of battery-powered outdoor power equipment, EGO has now concluded its Challenge 2025 campaign with the release of a new whitepaper.  

Summarising years of research and awareness activity from EGO, the whitepaper also includes research from industry trade body, the European Garden Machinery Federation (EGMF).

The data shows that between 2019 and 2024, the percentage of petrol-powered equipment in use across Europe fell from 36% to 24%. In sharp contrast, electric cordless equipment almost doubled in use, rising from 28% to 48%. 

This is mirrored exactly in sales of new equipment, with electric cordless rising from 33% to 58%, and petrol falling from 40% to 26%.  

Drawing on five years of campaign insights, field data, and market research, the whitepaper also explores results from emissions, noise and vibration testing from independent testing specialists, and evaluates whether EGO’s vision to establish battery power as the principal power source for outdoor power equipment, was reached.  

Vince Brauns, Group Product Director, for EGO, said: “Our latest whitepaper shows clearly that our Challenge 2025 vision for battery power had a clear and significant impact on the industry. When we began the campaign, battery power was seen as a compromise. Users who had used petrol for decades; could not believe that this new technology could give them the power, performance or runtime that they were accustomed to, and all without the strong fumes, loud noise or high vibrations. With misconceptions at their highest, we decided that it was time to show users the impact that using petrol tools was having on themselves and the environment around them.” 

Challenge 2025 was launched in 2020 with one goal in mind: to educate and empower change in domestic and professional outdoor power equipment users to make battery the principal power source and leave petrol in the past. The hope was that by educating users about the advantages of using battery-powered outdoor power equipment, EGO could dispel misconceptions, reduce emissions and noise pollution, and increase user comfort and safety.  

All these things were achievable with the technology available in 2020; however, a lack of awareness about the harmful nature of petrol, combined with uninformed perceptions of battery power, meant that mindset was a barrier to change. But now, as technology continues to advance, and with calls from industry bodies such as the Climate Change Committee to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it is clear the market is shifting in favour of cleaner, quieter and safer equipment.  

Vince Brauns continues: “The campaign has enabled us to advocate for battery power in both the UK and European markets and has ultimately helped to reposition battery-powered tools from a niche alternative to a staple choice. While there is still a minority who will choose petrol-power over battery-power, due to the data-backed information we have shared over the past five years, the conversation has fundamentally changed.”  

Working with specialist partners, this powerful and thought-provoking campaign commissioned market research to understand the attitudes and perceptions of over 1,200 outdoor power equipment users, evaluated the performance of petrol and battery-powered tools against noise, vibration and emissions, made Freedom of Information requests to understand the use of petrol tools by local authorities in Clean Air Zones and generated extensive press and social media coverage to heighten awareness. 

While Challenge 2025 was successful in bringing battery power to the forefront of the industry, as the principal power source for outdoor power equipment, this is only the beginning of securing a cleaner future for generations to come.  

The whitepaper, The Final Report: Battery-power, now charging ahead, is available to download at: https://egopowerplus.co.uk/about-ego/environmental-ethos/challenge-2025-final-report