Electric Car Drivers: Desires, Demands, & Dreams
ELECTRIC CAR DRIVERS DEMANDS, DESIRES & DREAMS PREVIEW
DECEMBER 2019 1 Electric Car Drivers: Desires, Demands, & Dreams
Table of Contents
5 1. Executive Summary
7 2. Survey Populations
9 3. The Electric Cars People Plan to Buy Next
22 4. The Electric Cars Consumers Considered… But Didn’t Buy
32 5. The Car Classes, Range & Features in High Demand with EV drivers
42 6. Top Electric Car Benefits & Top Misconceptions
46 7. EV Charging & Driving Range
50 8. EV Ownership + Solar & Energy Conservation
53 9. New vs. Used vs. Leasing
63 10. Conclusions
3 Electric Car Drivers: Desires, Demands, & Dreams
”One of the things I love about your writing is that you really care about getting the details right, and you really understand things well, which is awesome.”
Elon Musk
Talking to CleanTechnica Director and report author Zach Shahan on a Tesla conference call
4 Electric Car Drivers: Desires, Demands, & Dreams
3. The Electric Cars People Plan to Buy Next
9 Electric Car Drivers: Desires, Demands, & Dreams
For almost every population into a close race with its older Model 3 sibling, and it was the dominant response among Tesla group, the #1 response was the owners (most of whom already owned a Model Tesla Model 3. 3). The Model Y also won the #1 position for that question among general-population EV owners, again seemingly because the largest portion of those people already had the Tesla Model 3. Other Probably the most interesting question we ask popular models, depending on the region and year after year is one of the simplest: “What do you group, were the Nissan LEAF, Hyundai Kona EV, Kia think your next EV model will be?” It is particularly Niro EV, Chevy Bolt, and Renault Zoe. interesting because it gives us a strong sense of where the market is headed, and combined with Also, as in previous years, buyers in specific EV answers to some other questions (see the next groups were more likely to stick to that group than chapter) it also tells us a bit about what features buyers from other EV groups. Put more simply, and specs matter the most to EV buyers. Chevy Bolt and Nissan LEAF owners were more likely than Tesla owners to buy a Bolt or LEAF as As in previous surveys, for almost every their next EV, and Tesla owners were more likely population group, the #1 response was the Tesla than plug-in hybrid owners to buy a Tesla next — Model 3. However, the Tesla Model Y has surged as just two examples of this general pattern.
10 Electric Car Drivers: Desires, Demands, & Dreams
What do you think your next EV model will be?
EV DRIVERS
US & CANADA
Tesla Model 3 20%
Tesla Model Y 16%
Other 13%
Chevy Bolt 8%
Nissan LEAF 7%
Huyndai Kona EV 6%
Kia Niro EV 5%
Tesla Model S 4%
Kia Soul EV 2%
VW ID Buzz 2%
BMW i3 2%
Volkswagen ID.3 2%
Tesla Cybertruck 1%
VW ID Crozz 1%
Tesla Model X 1%
Chevy Volt 1%
Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid 1%
VW e-Golf 1%
I will not buy another car 1%
Hyundai Ioniq EV 1%
MINI Electric 1%
Porsche Taycan 1%
Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV 1%
Toyota Prius Prime/PHEV 1%
11 Electric Car Drivers: Desires, Demands, & Dreams
Will you choose an EV when you buy/lease another car?
EV DRIVERS
US & CANADA
UNITED KINGDOM 91% Yes, I would like to choose a BEV 98% 4% Yes, I would like to choose a PHEV 0%
0% No, I would like to choose a fuel vehicle 0%
No, I would like to choose a non-plug-in hybrid vehicle 0% such as Toyota Prius or Camry hybrid 0%
4% Not yet sure 2%
1% I will not buy another car 0%
PHEV DRIVERS
74% Yes, I would like to choose a BEV 72%
20% Yes, I would like to choose a PHEV 14%
0% No, I would like to choose a fuel vehicle 0%
No, I would like to choose a non-plug-in hybrid vehicle 1% such as Toyota Prius or Camry hybrid 0%
5% Not yet sure 0%
1% I will not buy another car 7%
16 Electric Car Drivers: Desires, Demands, & Dreams
Will you choose an EV when you buy/lease another car?
TESLA DRIVERS
US & CANADA
UNITED KINGDOM
93% Yes, I would like to choose a BEV 95%
1% Yes, I would like to choose a PHEV 0%
0% No, I would like to choose a fuel vehicle 0% 0% No, I would like to choose a non-plug-in hybrid vehicle such as Toyota Prius or Camry hybrid 0%
2% Not yet sure 0%
3% I will not buy another car 5%
17 Electric Car Drivers: Desires, Demands, & Dreams
Simply asking about preferred brand for their next EV, Tesla drivers almost uniformly expected to get another Tesla, whereas non-Tesla pure-EV drivers and PHEV drivers were quite varied in their brand of choice.
When you buy your next EV, which brand are you likely to choose? Up to 3 answers.
EV DRIVERS
UNITED KINGDOM
Tesla 54%
Hyundai 37%
Nissan 33%
Kia 32%
Volkswagen 30%
Renault 13%
Other 11%
BMW 11%
Honda 6%
Volvo 4%
Mitsubishi 4%
Jaguar 4%
Peugeot 4%
Dyson 4%
Toyota 3%
Rivian 3%
Polestar 2%
Smart 2%
Opel 2%
Mercedes-Benz 2%
Audi 2%
18 Electric Car Drivers: Desires, Demands, & Dreams PHEV DRIVERS
Tesla 43%
Kia 43%
Hyundai 36%
Volkswagen 14%
Volvo 7%
Polestar 7%
Nissan 7%
Jaguar 7%
Audi 7%
Other 7%
TESLA DRIVERS
Tesla 100%
Dyson 14%
Volvo 10%
Polestar 10%
Porsche 10%
Audi 10%
Jaguar 10%
Kia 10%
BAIC 5%
BMW 5%
Hyundai 5%
Mercedes-Benz 5%
Volkswagen 5%
Asked about how much respondents $30,000–40,000 price range, the same as with expected their next EV to cost, American and the market as a whole. Tesla drivers, as assumed, Canadian answers from non-Tesla EV drivers expected to spend more money, a full 84% (pure EV drivers and PHEV drivers) fell in selecting one of the higher price ranges. a rather perfect bell curve, with the peak in the
19 Electric Car Drivers: Desires, Demands, & Dreams
How much do you expect your next EV to cost?
US & CANADA EV DRIVERS PHEV DRIVERS TESLA DRIVERS
Below $20,000 9% 7% 1%
$20,000-$30,000 18% 19% 2%
$30,000-$40,000 37% 38% 13%
$40,000-$50,000 22% 21% 30%
$50,000-$60,000 8% 10% 24%
$60,000-$70,000 3% 3% 12%
More than $70,000 2% 3% 19%
UNITED KINGDOM EV DRIVERS PHEV DRIVERS TESLA DRIVERS
Below $20,000 20% 21% 0%
$20,000-$30,000 23% 7% 0%
$30,000-$40,000 30% 29% 18%
$40,000-$50,000 16% 43% 40%
$50,000-$60,000 7% 0% 18%
$60,000-$70,000 3% 0% 25%
More than $70,000 1% 0% 5%
20 Electric Car Drivers: Desires, Demands, & Dreams
4. The Electric Cars Consumers Considered… But Didn’t Buy
22 Electric Car Drivers: Desires, Demands, & Dreams
Perhaps the most fascinating new question this Many UK Tesla buyers also considered the Model S. year concerned the electric cars people didn’t Many UK non-Tesla BEV buyers also considered buy. We asked EV owners which other electric car the Hyundai Ioniq EV. models they considered before deciding on the Many UK buyers also considered the Mitsubishi car they bought. I was surprised to see how much Outlander PHEV. people actually cross-shopped across classes Many North American Tesla buyers also while considering which electric vehicle to buy. considered the Tesla Model S. Many North American non-Tesla BEV buyers Many buyers across ownership groups and regions also considered the Tesla Model 3. considered the Nissan LEAF and BMW i3 (more so A fair number of North American plug-in hybrid the LEAF). In Europe, it was common to consider buyers also considered the Toyota Prius Prime the Renault Zoe, and in the US & Canada, it was and the Tesla Model 3. common to consider the Chevy Bolt and Chevy Volt. Some additional comparisons common for specific groups were as follows:
23 Electric Car Drivers: Desires, Demands, & Dreams Did you compare your current EV with other EVs when buying/leasing? If yes, Did you compare with a fuel vehicle when buying/leasing the EV? pleace specify the model(s) you compared
PHEVEV DRIVERS DRIVERS
US & CANADA UNITED KINGDOM
Yes 19% 81% No Yes 18% 82% No
PHEV DRIVERS
Yes 27% 73% No Yes 29% 71% No
TESLA DRIVERS
Yes 20% 80% No Yes 20% 80% No
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