In the first three months of 2024, electric vehicle (EV) sales were down 7.3% from the final quarter of 2023. Ford, GM, and Mercedes-Benz have all announced scaled back EV production because of slowing demand. Why are consumers avoiding electric?
Inconvenient
“EV owners reported 79 per cent more problems with their powertrains over the past three years than owners of gas-powered vehicles, according to Consumer Reports’ latest annual car reliability survey.”
There is a steep learning curve when it comes to owning EVs, as consumers will have to learn the different types of charging plugs and speeds, their car’s capabilities, and how and where to charge.
Even equipped with EV knowledge, chargers can be challenging to use. Consumers are usually required to sign up for an account or download an app to use a charger. Aside from this being an imposition, people who don’t own a smartphone or can’t connect to the internet while at the station won’t be able to charge their cars.
Infrastructure
“A survey of EV drivers conducted by NGO Pollution Probe in 2023 said 56 per cent of EV owners felt that the power supply at public charging stations was not consistent.” That is like going to a gas station unsure if you will be able to put gas in your car – it’s unimaginable and would never be accepted by the public.
“According to research done in 2022 by the University of California, Berkeley, one-quarter of public chargers in the San Francisco Bay Area did not work due to unresponsive screens, payment system anomalies, network failures or just broken connectors.”
Getting gas at a station typically takes a few minutes and can be done before going to work or in between errands. But electric charging could take hours, depending on the capabilities of the charger, your car, and the cars in front of you in line. Not only will this put an end to saying, “I’ll just wake up early tomorrow to get gas before work,” but it is also far longer than most people wish to hang around a gas station.
If you buy a home charger (and it can fully charge your vehicle while you sleep at night) then you may not be as worried about the hours you need to wait while sitting in your car at a charging station. But many people don’t have anywhere to install a home charger – they don’t have a driveway, a garage, or may park on the side of the road, changing spots each time. Home chargers require space and money – you may need to upgrade your electrical panel, and the next EV you buy might not be compatible with the plug you installed, forcing you to upgrade your home charger with each new car.
Many people cite concerns over the amount of public charging stations available outside of major cities. The infrastructure is severely lacking in rural and remote places, and those who drive long distances, live in or visit small towns, or frequent backcountry cannot rely on finding a charger on a dirt road.
If you do break down, many EVs cannot be towed by a regular tow truck because the wheels will not spin without power, so they need to be fully lifted onto a flatbed truck, which are not easy to come across.
“range anxiety and a lack of charging infrastructure make some consumers think twice about buying electric.”
Prices
“On average, an EV costs about $15,000 more than a gas-powered car before any government incentives are applied. This increases to $20,000 if customers compare “apples to apples” and look to buy specific EV versions of their existing gas-powered cars,” not to mention the high interest rates consumers are currently dealing with.
Today, filling a car with electricity is usually cheaper than filling it with gas, but those small savings don’t make up for the car’s initial price tag, and consumers won’t see that initial price tag investment start to pay off until after many years of electric charging being cheaper than gas. Additionally, EV prices are still trending upwards, despite slowing demand.
The simple fact is that EV prices are out of the average buyer’s budget.
“Growth forecasts have plateaued, charging infrastructure has not kept pace and electric vehicle prices have pushed the cars out of reach of many consumers.”
Between high prices and inadequate power supplies, it’s no wonder drivers still prefer gas.
Sources:
Comments