Nearly 5,000 electric vehicle drivers across the UK, Germany, France and the Netherlands have taken part in a survey that reveals the biggest concerns and anxieties about EV ownership is the lack of charging infrastructure.
The survey conducted by charging solutions provider NewMotion is the largest annual survey among EV drivers in Europe, with the key takeaway from the results being that 45% of drivers have the most anxiety about a lack of charge points.
The results of the driver survey were presented in Amsterdam at the first V2X powered event, which was powered only by batteries of six electric vehicles. NewMotion used the V2X chargers that make it possible to take the power of the EVs to feed the energy to the event venues grid.
Elsewhere in the results, 41% said the use of a single charge card is also seen as an important improvement to the EV charging experience. EV drivers on average carry 2.5 charge cards and 15 percent even have 5 or more cards. EV drivers in France carry the most charge cards (3.48 cards on average), followed by Germany (3.37) and the United Kingdom (3.19). The situation is better in the Netherlands (1.82) most likely because most charge points are interoperable and because of the high volume of charge points, which is the highest in Europe.
Insight was gained from owners’ charging habits with 77% of the respondents having a charge point at home while more than half of them (55%) have a charge point available at work. It was clear that ease-of-use is an important factor in this area with 52% saying this is the biggest factor when choosing their charger, while a third (33%) mention the price of the charge point as important, while a quarter (26%) say that a recommendation from a third party such as a leasing company, a car dealer or employer, as most influential to their decision.
While 60% of EV drivers expect that full electric will be the most dominant fuel type for cars in 2030, the biggest influencing factor for going electric remains the cost. 61% of EV drivers say they drive an EV to save money, closely followed by the driving experience (58%). A quarter of the EV drivers mention secondary benefits as an important driver to switch to an electric vehicle. The contribution to a better environment (10%is not frequently mentioned as a main reason for switching to an EV, although EV drivers generally see themselves as ‘environmentally conscious’ (81%).
Current EV drivers are very enthusiastic about driving electric EV. Most people (86%) believe their next car will be an electric vehicle, while only 2 percent would switch back to a conventional (fossil fuel powered) car. Additionally, 9 out of 10 people would recommend an electric vehicle to others, only 3% indicate they would not recommend owning an EV to others.
The survey is a telling sign that infrastructure is a key factor in the widespread adoption of electric vehicles. While companies such as NewMotion are rolling out new solutions, the industry as a whole needs to grow even faster to meet demand and prevent consumers’ anxieties.
“Electric driving is the undisputed future of mobility in Europe. The industry is currently at the crossroad of the mobility and energy transition as electric driving has become more popular and is upscaling into its next phase: mass adoption,” said Sytse Zuidema, CEO at NewMotion.
“To make e-mobility accessible for everyone, the industry needs to mature, and we need to see improved collaboration between all parties in the energy transition, but particularly car manufacturers and EV charging solution providers. This will be the only way to live up to the promising future of electric driving.”
