Prices and charging availability remain biggest obstacles to EV adoption

The industry could see an exponential rise in EV adoption if main barriers such as more affordable price ranges for electric cars and uncertainty of charging availability are removed.

So says this year’s edition of the EVBox Mobility Monitor – EVBox’s market research report on EV adoption conducted alongside Ipsos.

More European citizens are inclined to purchase an electric car (44%) compared to almost two years ago, and a great deal of current electric vehicle (EV) drivers (79%) would opt for an EV again.

Nevertheless, the industry is still facing some challenges when it comes to making the switch to a sustainable form of transport more attractive to doubters.

The research is supported by responses from over 4000 European citizens across four countries: the Netherlands, France, Germany, and the UK.

Across all four countries, the price of electric cars is the main reason why European citizens are not making the switch to an electric vehicle (60%).

This number has significantly increased in Germany (from 40% to 61%) and the Netherlands (from 54% to 66%) compared to the figures from the 2020 EVBox Mobility Monitor report.

As the second most prevalent reason, the uncertainty of where and if they will find a charging station when they need one (43%) continues to be an important block to the mass adoption of electric mobility.

Nevertheless, the concern regarding low charging port availability has decreased by 5%.

Additionally, the assumption that charging is more expensive than gasoline is less prevalent than before (25% in 2022 compared to 33% in 2020).

Finally, four out of ten Europeans think that charging EVs takes too much time.

Remco Samuels (Interim CEO at EVBox), said: “An EV is a long-term investment that is, in many cases, less expensive than a petrol or diesel car in the long run. However, as the results of our market research show, many among the general public are unaware and still see price as a barrier to start driving electric.

“As an industry, we need to clarify that even while the initial costs of an EV compared to a petrol or diesel car may be higher, the maintenance and charging costs of EVs are significantly lower.

“I am pleased to see that many people do consider driving electric a part of the solution to climate change. At EVBox, we keep ourselves accountable to work together with other players in the market to ensure that the main barriers of EV adoption are removed for those who want to make the switch to electric.

“Governments, car manufacturers, charging station manufacturers, and other businesses need to step up and play an active role in this transition.”

Image: EVBox

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