Download document:
Gaining traction – Will consumers ride the electric vehicle wave? - .PDF file.
A new study from Deloitte has found that range, charging time, and purchase price are still barriers to the mass adoption of electric vehicles.
According to the survey of 4,760 European consumers, only 16 per cent see themselves as potential first movers to buy or lease an electric vehicle, while 53 per cent say they might be willing to consider it, and 31 per cent say they are not likely to consider purchasing or leasing an electric vehicle (EV).
David Raistrick, automotive partner and head of manufacturing at Deloitte UK, said: ‘There is no doubt that electric vehicles are the future of the automotive industry. However, while interest in electric vehicles is growing, with 69 per cent of respondents willing to consider an EV today, current market offerings generally fall far short of consumers’ expectations for driving range, charging time and purchase price.’
According to Deloitte, more than 80 per cent of European consumers surveyed said that convenience to charge, range, and the cost to charge were all key considerations when buying or leasing an EV.
David Raistrick said: ‘Our research shows that there are specific design targets that manufacturers must reach in order to entice car buyers.
‘Three-quarters of European consumers surveyed said that before they would consider purchasing an EV, they would expect it to be able to travel 300 miles between charges — much higher than what is currently available — and 67 per cent said the battery must take no longer than two hours to charge.
‘In the UK, however, consumers consider the ability to travel at least 200 miles between charges to be the tipping point, especially in London and the South East.’
Fifty-seven per cent of respondents who say they may be willing to consider an EV expect to pay the same or less for an EV than they do for a regular car. Twenty-four per cent of the same group say they would be willing to pay a premium.
‘A bright note for the UK is that it appears from our research that UK consumers are more willing to pay a premium for electric vehicles than their counterparts in other European countries,’ said Raistrick.
The Nissan Leaf can fast charge its batteries to 80% full in under 30 minutes.
Ok the range is 109 miles but will improve with future development.
Plenty of people have done the sums, but there is fairly predictable amount of energy needed to drive 300 miles, and drawing that much in 2 hour charging is “a lot”.
For example a Tesla Roadster has a 53 kWh battery, a quoted 211 mile range, and takes 70 amps at 240V for 3.5 hours to charge.
EV will not come on strong until their range is 400 miles, can recharge in less than ten minutes and their price is comparable with present vehicles. The only way I see that happening is if they standardize power packs and you swap out packs instead of recharging. People are not going to spend more time recharging their vehicles than they do now filling their tanks.
Most people here in the US own at least two cars. I would buy an ele. one for use around town and use my second (Gas powered) one for longer trips. People over here that want one are driving 100-150 miles a day for work and want to save on gas. Thats not where there at right now, so use it where it will work your kid driving to school, local shopping trips.
Our expectations of EV performance, range, charging time etc., are based on what we get now from IC powered vehicles, but when & if the continuing gross consumption of cheap hydrocarbon fuels becomes untenable then our habits will simply change to what the EV can deliver. People will just not casually drive hundreds of miles to visit a shop or an event or whatever.
The crunch point is that if everybody bought an electric car tomorrow the National Grid would grind to a halt!
Also until we get renewable energy sorted out, including nuclear – if I dare mention it today! – then we are just shifting the point of consumption of fossil fuel down the road to the power station. And probably actually burning more than an economical car would into the bargain. I wonder what the statistics on that are!
Those electric cars will require a lot of coal to power them.
And remember that every electric car requires rare earth elements (REE) that are 97% monopolized by China. And the manner in which China mines and refines REEs is extremely toxic to the environment.
It’s all about the total cost of ownership: cost to the purchaser throughout its useful life, cost to the environment and cost to the exchequer in tax gained or lost from fuel. Perhaps your electricity supply will use a special tax meter.
I agree with everyone above me on the points they have made.
I just want to add the EV technology just isn’t there yet, esp. for US consumers where urban sprawl is more widespread than in Europe. That said, I think the best route is to continue to improve on the hybrid technology in efforts to minimize gasoline usage and work on multi-fuel capable vehicles (those that can run gasoline, ethanol or LNG)
People will still want to travel long distances to visit events, friends, new places. We’re human. It’s what we’ve always done. New technologies are usually (if not always) driven by necessity. Think back 100 years. A petrol refueling facility practically on every street corner? That’s impossible, unthinkable! We’re Engineers. We can do it!
Without lines of charging points along roads in residential areas, surely home recharging will require cables from homes to vehicles. I can’t see car users risking they will always be able to park outside their home, or local authorities allowing cables to be run across public footpaths. Cables are certain to be vandalised or stolen.
A lot of the resistance to electric vehicles is also related to size and function.
I have a wife and 3 children. I drive a 15 yr old car with 5 seats that weighs a little over 700kg. Is is very economical due to its low weight yet nippy. It even has room for a decent amount of shopping.
The Nissan Leaf is a serious contender but has twice the inertia as it weighs 1500kg thus wasting energy.
If as much attention to weight saving was placed on the development as was when my car was developed, then the usability might increase.
Few people really want one of the 2 seater battery wonders as their sole form of transport as they have lives away from daily commuting.
I’ve been plugging in my self-converted plug in prius every night since december. i don’t even think about plugging in now, it’s just automatic. my best work trip performance was just over 90mpg, and it has been quite cold. in the warmer summer months it will be higher, so hopefully will see some 100mpg+ trips. Plugin hybrids, even with a modest EV range (such as the 14 miles official prius PHV, or the upcoming Honda vehicle) will allow us to significantly reduce petrol use, without compromising range or refuelling times. it will encourage the installation of lots and lots of charging points, which then make 100 mile EV’s totally viable almost everyone (delivery drivers and sales reps will still need to look elsewhere…)
Banging on about “the long tailpipe” is just a fallacy. it’s almost impossible to create completely renewable emissions free petrol. it’s completely possible to create renewable electrcity, and there’s more and more of it all the time…
Removable battery packs will be the best solution to charging and mileage problem.
EV’s are fine if you can charge them, On the estate where I live this could be well nigh impossible for some drivers as the parking areas are in some cases 100 metres away from the house. Also you would have a similar problem for people dwelling in flats from a safet point you would not want cables festooned all over the outside of the flats and in some cases across public footpaths.
If there is going to be an electric car revolution then one of the first things that will need to be addressed is the ability of all potential owners to charge their vehicle, this would then also lead to the issue of taxation, when EV usage is common place you can be sure that the government will want their wedge to replace what will be lost in fuel duty.
I think you’ve got it backwards. You need the electric vehicle to go a thousand miles so that you save on the long trips. In the North American mind, all these short trips are only ‘a few bucks’ and, therefore, do-able even at higher gas prices.