How cheap does an EV need to be?
A new survey of 10,000 people across eight significant markets has established tipping points for mainstream adoption of electric vehicles.
The survey conducted by lubricants company Castrol surveyed consumers, fleet managers and industry experts in the USA, the United Kingdom, Norway, France, Germany, India, China and Japan.
No they didn’t poll Australian views…
And the key numbers the survey comes up regarding electric cars with for the Yanks are:
- The price at which an EV becomes affordable is US$36,000 ($49,000 approx)
- The acceptable range between recharges is 519km (or 320 miles)
- And the acceptable charging time is 30 minutes.
What do you reckon about that? Comments below please folks.
Research results that also emerged from the survey suggests the EV market could be worth US$108 billion ($148 billion) in the USA alone by 2025.
“Castrol’s research shows that there is an appetite amongst consumers to make the switch to electric,” said David Bouet, president BP Lubricants.
“Vehicle manufacturers have an opportunity to do more to translate this into buying decisions, especially at a time when consumer behaviour is bound to be more cautious.”
There were some significant discrepancies between different countries in terms of the results.
Japanese consumers were prepared to pay as much as US$43,000 ($59,000), but in the UK they were far more stingy, at US$30,000 ($41,000).
Price was the number one priority for US consumers, with 57 percent of those surveyed saying they were currently too expensive. Sixty-five percent said they were worried about maintenance costs, despite research showing EVs were cheaper than ICE vehicles over their lifetime in terms of cost of ownership.
Charge time was nominated as the number two priority for US consumer, while range was number three. Their expected average was well above the global average of 469km, equivalent to a drive from Paris to London.
The fourth concern listed by respondents to the survey was the availability of charging infrastructure, while vehicle choice was the number five priority.
Intriguingly, about half of fleet managers and consumer surveyed said they would be more inclined to shift to an EV if there was an equivalent to their favourite ICE vehicle.
Charging in 30 minutes happens now. 0-80% capacity on public fast chargers. 519 km range is way too much for what most people need. 300 km would be adequate especially if you can plug in at home to charge. That would usually mean only once a week charging if you commute to work. Price is the main stumbling block. Battery prices have plummeted over the last few years but car prices have hardly moved. Electric cars should have been cheaper by now. I sense an unwillingness by the main manufacturers to sell them so as to protect their ICE sales.
Depends on the vehicle. For a Tesla Model 3 or a Kona ev, about AUD 50k is ok. For a Leaf or an Ioniq, has to be AUD40k. At those prices I think you can argue they are fair value, not affordable though, most people can’t buy a 40 or 50k car.