SHOPSMART AUTOS – CUSTOMER INFORMATION – LOVE OF EV VEHICLES -2
Are Consumers Ready for EVs?
Not according to them. EV technology and infrastructure availability have progressed dramatically in 23 years, but many consumers still believe EVs are lacking in comparison to internal combustion engine vehicles. (CleanTechnica writers disagree.) Few consumers have any experience with battery-electric vehicles. Did you know that 70% of US respondents to the JD Power survey have never been in a battery-electric vehicle? 30% admit they know nothing about them. Comments included confusion about battery replacement costs, how old electric car batteries affect the environment, and if batteries can be recycled. Perpetual barriers remain. Charging station availability, driving range, and purchase price are the top 3 barriers to battery-electric vehicles as perceived by US and Canadian consumers today. These were also the top 3 barriers in 1997 when JD Power studied consumer interest in EVs when the GM EV1 was launching. Kolodge offered some insights into the lack of consumer confidence in EVs and advice for automakers. “They’re pushing forward with technology that consumers seem to have little interest in. Nor are they making the strides needed to change people’s minds. Especially now, automakers need to reevaluate where they’re spending money. They are investing billions in these technologies but they need to also invest in educating consumers. Lack of knowledge is a huge roadblock for future adoption.”
Final Thoughts
Consumer confidence in future mobility technologies seems to lag far behind automakers’ plans to bring self-driving and battery-electric vehicles to the marketplace. But education can help consumers to understand the power and place of EVs and AVs in their lives. After all, Tesla has no problem selling its cars, and the volumes it has achieved many thought were impossible a few years ago. And many non-Tesla EV owners love their own EVs like Tesla owners do. As Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. uttered, “A person’s mind, stretched by new ideas, may never return to its original dimensions.” Automakers need to educate dealers and rely on its experts — the engineers — to communicate with customers and enthusiasts so that the investment of automotive technology aligns with understanding. There is one question still in frequent debate about automakers and EVs. Did they really want to sell them? We have pointed out many times that increasing EV sales, and increasing awareness of EV benefits, could be a financial death knell for automakers. Transitions so deep are not necessarily easy to survive.
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