General topic on surveys of public attitudes to BEVs

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

GRA

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 19, 2011
Messages
14,018
Location
East side of San Francisco Bay
There've been a lot of them, and rather than starting a new topic every time I thought it would be better to have a single catch-all topic, so we can see and monitor if there've been any major changes in attitudes over time (so far, there haven't been; Price, range and infrastructure continue to be the main problem areas). I'll try and find some of the old ones and move or have a mod move them here. To start things off, via GCR:
Despite partisan divide, Americans see EVs as better for the envrionement and want more solar power

https://www.greencarreports.com/new...for-the-environment-and-want-more-solar-power


Although Americans are closely divided on whether to phase out internal combustion engines in the near future, they do agree more decidedly on the environmental merits of EVs and that we should have more renewable energy—as a couple of recent Pew polls suggest.

One survey found that a majority of Americans support more renewable energy, with 84% of survey respondents approving of expanding solar farms, and 73% supporting expansion of wind farms.

However, Republican support has dropped, researchers noted, adding that the partisan gaps on expanding solar (20 percentage points) and wind power (29 percentage points) are now larger than at any point since Pew started asking about these energy sources in 2016. . . .

That begs the question of what Republican voters will support instead. The party made a promise to "bring back coal" a major plank of its 2016 election-cycle campaigns, but the retirement of coal power plants now seems to have picked up unstoppable momentum.

Coal has been more expensive than natural gas for years, and renewable energy is now undercutting its costs as well. The open expanse of the American West is also perfect for vast solar arrays.

Views on electric cars are even more muddled. As a different Pew survey from earlier in the month indicated, Americans see EVs as much better for the environment but see them as less reliable and more costly.

So while two-thirds of Americans acknowledged that EVs were better for the environment, only 39% said they are even somewhat likely to consider an EV when making their next vehicle purchase.

A slim majority also opposed phasing out production of gasoline vehicles, with 51% against and 47% for such a move. . . .

There are bar graphs.
 
Here's a few older ones:

67% Of Survey Respondents In The US Are Interested In Electric Car

Sun Jun 05, 2016 3:15 pm

Via IEVS:https://insideevs.com/news/331219/6...ts-in-the-us-are-interested-in-electric-cars/

The survey seems kind of skewed, in that it only involves what are essentially CARB states, and sets a pretty low bar to car usage: "California and 9 NE states . . . who were licensed to drive and had driven a vehicle in the past twelve months." Do we really want people who are now walking/cycling/riding public transit to switch to driving a car, however powered?

The survey also looked at California specifically (PEVs 3% of the total new auto sales market), and
“The survey also found that 44 percent of California households could use an electric vehicle with little or no change to their current driving habits and vehicle needs. Survey respondents met the criteria for using a typical plug-in hybrid EV available today if they have access to parking and an electrical outlet at home, need to carry 4 or fewer passengers, and do not need hauling or towing capability.”
Here's the actual survey breakdown, from https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2016/05/Electric-Vehicle-Survey-Methodology.pdf:
Survey Results

HOUSEHOLD SUITABILITY FOR EVS

Q1 Which of the following best describes your current parking situation at home?

a. Private off-street parking, such as a garage or dedicated spot, with access to an electrical outlet.

NE CA All
52.37% 53.75% 53.06%


Q2 In a typical week what is the highest number of occupants, including yourself, you need to fit in the vehicle you drive most
often?

5 or less – NE 5 or less – CA 5 or less - All

85.54% 86.75% 86.14%


Q3 For the vehicle you drive most often, does it need to have hauling or towing capacity?

No – NE No- CA No - All

73.42% 74.82% 74.12%


Respondents that met all criteria above:

PHEV Ready – NE PHEV Ready – CA PHEV Ready – All

43.33% 43.99% 43.66%
So, here in California, just under 54% have private off-street parking and access to an electrical outlet at home, and 46% don't, which is the main key to BEV viabililty. This is a bit worse than the 56%/44% (nationwide?) breakdown in the Plug-In America survey. It would have been useful if they'd also asked who had access at work or some other location where they parked for long periods of time.



GCR: AAA survey finds more optimism over self-driving cars than in EVs

Mon May 13, 2019 4:43 pm

https://www.greencarreports.com/new...e-optimism-over-self-driving-cars-than-in-evs

More Americans think most cars will be able to drive themselves in 10 years than the number who think most cars will be electric in that time frame.

That's according to a survey released Thursday by AAA, the nation's leading automobile club and provider of roadside assistance.

According to the organization's latest Green Car Guide, only 40 percent think that most cars will be electric by 2029, while 50 percent told AAA in a survey in March that they thought most cars will be self-driving by then. . . .

Last year, AAA's survey on American's attitudes toward electric cars showed that 16 percent of Americans—the same percentage who buy pickup trucks—said they would consider an EV for their next vehicle purchase.

This year, they found that interest remains steady, and that specific objections to buying an electric car are falling. For example, concerns about having too few places to charge and about running out of a charge while driving were each down 11 percentage points in this year's survey compared to last year. Concerns over the cost of repairing or replacing batteries were down 8 percentage points. And concerns about prices of EVs being higher than equivalent gas cars were down 6 percentage points.

Millennials and younger consumers expressed more interest in buying electric, citing environmental concerns and lower operating costs. Those willing to consider an electric car said they would be willing to pay an extra $4,000 for one, compared with a conventional car.

More consumers were optimistic about self-driving cars, even though no autonomous cars are yet available for consumers to buy. More than half think that the majority of cars on the road in 10 years will be able to drive themselves, even though 71 percent of Americans also told AAA in March that they would be afraid to ride in such a vehicle.

Widespread adoption of electric cars is likely to precede widespread use of self-driving cars, because most self-driving cars are likely to be electric, Brannon notes. . . .



GCR: Survey: Range, cost, infrastructure sum up why shoppers avoid BEVs

Thu Aug 22, 2019 5:38 pm

https://www.greencarreports.com/new...-infrastructure-sum-up-why-shoppers-avoid-evs


The more things change . . . The exact same story could of (and has) been written at any time over the past 9 years. The same factors were cited as the most important attributes for buying, but price moved ahead of range.

. . . When Autolist asked consumers for the minimum range they’d accept in a $35,000 electric vehicle, the leading answer was “between 250 and 300 miles”—stipulations perhaps most closely met by the Hyundai Kona Electric, with its $37,995 base price and 258-mile EPA-rated range. The Chevrolet Bolt EV and Kia Niro EV are also close to meeting those expectations. . . .

You can add the 2020 Bolt to the 250+ range list.

But when Autolist asked the same about a $70,000 EV, the responses, the most common response was “more than 500 miles. . . .”

There's apparently a strong correlation between the age of the respondent and the required range, with older drivers demanding more. Also see:
OVERCOMING THE HURDLES TO WIDESPREAD ELECTRIC VEHICLE ADOPTION

https://www.myev.com/research/ev-101/overcoming-the-hurdles-to-widespread-electric-vehicle-adoption


I'll keep looking for more, and move them when I find them.
 
GRA said:
only 39% said they are even somewhat likely to consider an EV when making their next vehicle purchase.

Source of above is https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/EV-Topline-for-release.pdf


15% are very likely to consider an EV (BEV??) for their next car.

Remember that continued exponential growth wouldn't be limited by this for 6 years or so. In 6 years, BEVs are likely to be cheaper than ICE, not even counting lower operation cost.
 
Decided to put this here rather than starting a new topic, although arguably it deserves one. GCC:
J.D. Power survey finds public charging experience for EV owners has a lot of room for improvement

https://www.greencarcongress.com/2021/08/20210819-jdp.html


While most electric vehicle (EV) owners primarily charge their vehicles at home, public charging is a significant part of the EV ownership experience. Owners’ ability to recharge their vehicle’s battery is a key factor in the broader adoption of EVs, particularly among those who can’t install a private home charger or don’t have access to residential charging, such as city dwellers who reside in multiple-occupancy buildings.

Public charging infrastructure is a key component in the overall adoption of electric vehicles by the broad population. Unfortunately, the availability of public charging is the least satisfying aspect of owning an EV. Owners are reasonably happy in situations where public charging is free, doesn’t require a wait and the location offers other things to do—but that represents a best-case scenario. The industry needs to make significant investment in public charging to assure a level of convenience and satisfaction that will lure potentially skeptical consumers to EVs.

—Brent Gruber, senior director of global automotive at J.D. Power

The inaugural J.D. Power US Electric Vehicle Experience (EVX) Public Charging Study measures EV owners’ satisfaction with two types of public charge point operators: Level 2 charging stations and DC fast charger stations. Satisfaction is measured across 10 factors: ease of charging; speed of charging; cost of charging; ease of payment; ease of finding this location; convenience of this location; things to do while charging; how safe you feel at this location; availability of chargers; and cleanliness of this location.

Following are key findings of the 2021 study:

Most owners satisfied with ease of public charging: Satisfaction with the ease of using a DC fast charger is 737 among battery electric vehicle (BEV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) owners, while satisfaction with the ease of charging at a Level 2 charging station is only 21 points lower (716) despite Level 2 charging being much slower than DC fast charging. This indicates that current EV owners understand how both types of chargers work, so the systems don’t prompt issues.

Charging costs are a large issue for many EV owners: Though their satisfaction with the cost of charging trails their overall satisfaction by a large margin, satisfaction is much higher among BEV owners with access to free public charging. Greater satisfaction with charging costs filters through many other aspects of the experience. Public charging satisfaction among owners utilizing free DC fast charging is 706, yet when owners must pay for their fast-charging session, satisfaction declines to 673. The impact of cost on Level 2 charging is more pronounced, as satisfaction with free charging is 668 but declines to 586 when payment is required. Free charging, either offered through manufacturer incentives or as a result of a charge point operator’s business model, presents a significant advantage in the public charging experience.

Owner satisfaction with availability of public charging stations mixed: With an average score of 668, the overall availability of public charging stations promotes relative satisfaction among current BEV and PHEV owners who use such stations. However, satisfaction with DC fast charger availability is 720 while Level 2 charging station availability drops to 645. The level of satisfaction with the availability of public charging varies by geographic region. The West North Central and East North Central regions are above average in charger availability, while the West South Central and Mid Atlantic regions are below average. The Mountain and Pacific regions are the lowest performing regions for charger availability.

Looking for a charge but left empty: The two most-often-cited problems BEV and PHEV owners have when visiting a charging station and being unable to power up are the charger was out of service (58%) and no charger available/too long to wait (14%). . . .
 
Back
Top