Electric driver won’t go back to fuel-powered car

People who have chosen electric driving once will overwhelmingly choose electric again when replacing their car. That is one of the conclusions of a survey of over 23,254 motorists in 18 countries.

For that survey by the Global EV Alliance (GEVA), Costa Ricans, Britons, Slovenians, Americans, Irish and people from India, among others, were questioned in addition to the Dutch. Of all these people, 97 per cent are satisfied or very satisfied with electric driving. If they had to replace their current EV, 92 per cent would choose a battery-electric vehicle again. Another 4 per cent would go for a plug-in hybrid car and only 1 per cent would opt for a diesel or petrol-powered car again. The remaining 3 per cent have not yet decided or would go for another option, such as a hydrogen car.

Prefer charging at home

Of the electric drivers surveyed, 90 per cent see climate change as a major problem. Among their reasons for choosing an EV (each respondent was allowed to tick a maximum of two options), the climate-friendliness of the car therefore ranked high. Only the lower operational costs were mentioned more often. Driving behaviour, the lower impact of electric cars on their environment, less maintenance and and subsidies and other purchase benefits were also mentioned as purchase reasons.

Charging is something the 23,254 respondents prefer to do at home, as 72 per cent of them do so at their own doorstep. The most frequently mentioned option after that, fast charging, is used significantly less often at 13 per cent. Public parking facilities with charging poles and of charging facilities at work each account for 7 per cent of all charging done by respondents to this survey.

Disadvantages

They were also allowed to name up to three disadvantages of electric driving and the most common answer given was that there are simply none. Yet many respondents do see challenges, especially with the availability of fast chargers with and charging poles that regularly fail. Furthermore, quite a few people argue that an EV is not sufficient as a car for the whole family, and although the average range has already increased quite a bit, several respondents still think it could be a bit more.

And it is generally felt that a long drive with an EV requires more planning than with a petrol or diesel car, although the extent to which this opinion differs from country to country. It is also notable that over 80 per cent would like or very much like to simply pay directly with their bank card at the charging station.