Posted on 07/11/2022 9:06:34 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
A new nationwide survey from Consumer Reports shows that range anxiety and cost are the primary factors holding back consumers from purchasing an electric vehicle. Only 14 pct of respondents said they would definitely buy an EV, not enough to support a vibrant used EV market.
Consumer Reports recently released the results of its nationally representative survey of 8,027 American adults on their views towards electric vehicles. Here were the major takeaways:
On buying/leasing an EV: Fourteen percent of respondents said they “would definitely buy or lease an electric-only vehicle”, over half (57%) said they would consider/seriously consider it and more than a quarter (28%) said they would not consider buying one.
Obstacles to buying/leasing an EV: The top 3 concerns preventing respondents from buying or leasing an electric-only vehicle were:
“Charging logistics, such as where and when I’d be able to charge it” (61%),
“number of miles the vehicle can go before it needs to be charged” (55%) and
“costs involved with buying, owning and maintaining an electric-only vehicle” (52%).
When it comes to cost-related factors preventing respondents from buying or leasing an EV, the top 3 were:
“purchase price” (58 pct),
“maintenance and repair costs” (40 pct) and
“the cost to install a home charger” (30 pct).
In terms of charging-related concerns holding people back, the top 3 were:
“not enough public charging stations” (59 pct),
“nowhere to plug in my car to charge at home” (44 pct) and
“inconvenience of charging” (42 pct).
Knowledge of tax incentives: Almost half (46 pct) of respondents had not heard of any incentives available for EV owners. Just over a third (34 pct) knew about “tax rebates/discounts at the time of purchase or lease”.
Further, most respondents (60 pct) said they are not too familiar or not familiar at all with the fundamentals of owning an EV. Most respondents have not driven (93 pct) or been a passenger (83 pct) in an EV over the last year.
Takeaway: This survey is instructive in that it captures the receptivity to EVs among BOTH new and used car buyers. For the EV market to prove robust and sustainable, it will need to achieve broader adoption to support the EV ecosystem that helps drive resale values and affordable lease rates.
At present, more than a quarter of Americans are not open to getting an EV, with range anxiety and costs the primary factors holding back consumers. Many Americans are also still unfamiliar with EVs in terms of how they work and the tax incentives available. Spurring more EV adoption will come down to improving the technology (i.e. extending vehicle range), expanding the number of public charging stations, and offering/publicizing financial incentives which help bring down purchase prices.
I don't live close enough to the Alabama coast to worry about hurricanes (I can think of only once in my lifetime a hurricane made it this far north, and by then it might have been a tropical storm). But we've had tornadoes around here take out power for a week and our gas stations wouldn't work.
If you're married and have two cars anyway, the choice between gas or EV doesn't have to be a mutually exclusive choice. Instead of "either ... or" you can do "both...and".
I met a fellow the other week, who had a Tesla. He was spending the night at an AirBnB and was charging his car overnight.
He was quite proud at how he was able to siphon off electricity at various stops for free, and what a great thing having an EV was since gas was so expensive now. 12 hours of charging at 15-20 continuous amps got him about 20% of capacity, or by my figuring an additional $10-15 on the owner’s electric bill.
I wanted to slug him, but thought better of it.
So, based on the fact that a majority of those who would consider buying an EV are open to the possibility of NOT buying an EV, the OP invented their own headline and wrote as if only a small portion of the public would buy an EV, when in reality the vast majority would consider buying an EV.
The biggest obstacles were (1) charging logistics, (2) range anxiety and (3) cost, all of which necessarily decline as the technology achieves wider and wider adoption.
Yep, I can fill my vehicle’s gas tank in just a few minutes and
I’m back on the road. Not so with a vehicle needing needing
recharging of the batteries. At some point in time they may
well develop a two battery system such that one system can
be recharging while the vehicle is on the road.
Some Walmarts and Sam's Club stores have charging stations that charge up to 350kW. Kia and Hyundai (really the same company) are making EV's that charge in 20 minutes with those fast chargers. And most of those chargers are by a restaurant or grocery store.
I'm not ready to take it on a week-long road trip. But a weekend getaway so far seems do-able and cheap. Especially with the first third or so of the 600+ miles of the round trip being free.
But practically everyone is about to vote Dem in the midterms and Presidential elections again?*
As in hit me again, go ahead, I love it.
*Since the 1990s I have seen polls on various topics and would-be candidates and have come to the conclusion that around 36-38% of voters are conservative or moderately right.
We have to get the so called independent and undecided ones to join us. Those terms mainly mean “don’t really follow the news and don’t really know anything about this issue myself.”
This abortion frenzy is causing agitation here in Michigan and that hag Whitmer is a beneficiary, at least up to now. News stories make people think they will be arrested if they have a miscarriage now that Roe’s end supposedly took away their “woman’s right to choose.” Dangerous.
CLearly then, the technology is a dead end because at least one (and probably several more) of the millions of early adopted was a richardhead. Thank God you can’t siphon gasoline!
The solution to all the problems with EVs was and still is the ICE.
RE: all of which necessarily decline as the technology achieves wider and wider adoption.
Are you in favor of government policies making competitive technologies ( e.g. use of fossil fuels ) more expensive in order to help accelerate the overcoming of these obstacles to achieve wider adoption?
Nope. No way. My wife is the driver in our marriage due to my physical limitations. She does not do well with modern technology, especially iPhones. From what I’ve seen, using Tesla as the standard, she would forget to plug it in at night. Plus, we like to take car trips over 500 miles. The thought of stopping every 250 miles to do a 30 minute charge is ludicrous.
I wish I could get my gasoline-powered car through a refill at the interstate on vacation in 20 minutes. Snacks, bathroom breaks and a refill easily take that long. I’m sure some people can, at the right hour, fill and go in five minutes. My family is not one of them.
RE: The thought of stopping every 250 miles to do a 30 minute charge is ludicrous.
You better know where the charging stations are in advanced and plan your route accordingly.
Really? The thought of stopping ONCE to recharge for 20-30 minutes along a 500-mile journey is ludicrous? Really?
Since Solar and Wind power cannot be depended on to meet present demands all the time now, how can enough electricity be produced to charge all the electric vehicles that everyone should run out and buy?
Edit to add: Better hope that if you do get to a charging station, somebody else isn’t charging his EV or instead of waiting for 30 minute, you’ll have to wait an hour.... :)
And how to they intend to charge them? Unicorn farts?
Every single time an EV battery is fast charged, the life of the battery and it’s range is incrementally reduced.
EV, not ready for prime time. I can buy a lot of fuel for my existing ICE car before I am forced to buy an EV.
That is the point though, they are trying to force this upon us.
EVs are more like cabbage patch kids or mood rocks, a fad for the times made moreso by the feds.
So many things are wrong with them. They are a solution in search of a problem that is being created for them. They may make sense for some but not for me, not now. Not with all the problems they have.
I definitely bought an electric car. It’s almost 3 years now. If I had to do it again I would buy the top model for 4000 dollars more. I don’t charge at home except on rare occasions. I have to unplug the dryer to plug in my car. I got free 600 dollars from the utility as compensation for a home charger and I took the money and spent it elsewhere.
One thing that made it possible for me to buy electric is the fact that my wife has a gas powered car. It takes five minutes to get enough fuel to go 400 miles. With electric it takes an hour to get enough fuel to go 200 miles. The energy cost is about half or better these days for electric. The net cost of the difference in range is measured in hours rather than dollars.
On the upside I have 33000 miles on it and have not changed the oil. Hahahaha. It’s great if you live in the southwest. Air conditioning works good without too much loss of mileage. Heating not so much.
I have taken several road trips of more than 500 miles and plan to again. The only problem is that there are places you can’t go. If you are on a stretch of highway you can’t easily take a side trip of 30 or 40 miles to hime to a waterfall. We drove to the Bristlecone Pines Park but we charged up first.
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