Headlines claiming a roll-back in EV interest are likely overblown. A recent global survey, with significant U.S. contribution, shows that almost all EV drivers are likely to purchase another.

Electric Car Owner Satisfaction

We talk a lot about the advantages of switching to electric propulsion here at GreenCars. Electric vehicles offer zero-emissions driving, they have great performance, and they have significant financial advantages in terms of lower operating costs. The latest study from the Global EV Driver’s Alliance (GEVA) helps to quantify how much those benefits mean to EV drivers – and has also found that over 90 percent will never go back to gas.

23,000 EV Drivers Surveyed

GEVA’s survey, which covered 18 countries and had over 23,000 respondents, is one of the first surveys to capture the sentiments of EV drivers around the world; GEVA leveraged its global network of EV driver’s associations to distribute the survey. The fact that survey respondents belonged to EV associations may explain the very high satisfaction ratings – but it’s still fun to delve into the results.

Around the world, 92 percent of electric car drivers indicated that they would purchase another electric car as their next vehicle; four percent would opt for a plug-in hybrid if they had to replace their car tomorrow. Only one percent indicated they would return to a gasoline or diesel-powered car.

“This is a remarkably high number,” said Joel Levin, chair of GEVA and Director of Plug In America. “The results confirm that drivers love the EV experience and EVs are here to stay.”

EV Popularity

It’s worth looking at the factors that contribute to very high satisfaction with EV purchasers. The environmental benefits of electric cars were the second-most important motivation for drivers, but it was lower operating costs that EV drivers loved the most. Other motivations were new technology, good drivability, and lower maintenance costs.

In many markets around the world, electric cars also offer their owners unique advantages not available to drivers of conventional vehicles. Some examples are reduced taxes, access to carpool lanes in many markets, lower fees on toll roads, and preferential parking in high-traffic areas.

“These results confirm that EV drivers are highly satisfied with their choice, and that reports of declining EV popularity are greatly exaggerated,” said Petter Haugneland, Assistant Secretary General of The Norwegian EV Association.

Where Can the EV Experience Improve?

It wasn’t all roses, though, for EV drivers, and GEVA’s survey found areas for improvement, most around charging. Despite the fact that 72 percent of survey respondents charged at home – and thus could have a “full tank” of electricity every morning – there was general agreement that charging infrastructure needs to improve.

While public charging is good in most countries, and expanding at a steady pace, some EV drivers still found charging to be a hassle. EV drivers rated the biggest disadvantages of driving an EV were limited availability of fast chargers; how much time it took to charge their EVs on fast chargers; and unacceptable downtime of fast charging stations.

“This demonstrates that EV drivers are similar to consumers in general - they desire convenience and a hassle-free experience,” said Christian Peter, Director of EMC ElektroMobilitätsClub of Austria. “Even though the majority of EV drivers charge at home most of the time, developing consumer-friendly charging solutions is crucial for the growth of the EV mass market.”

What Do the Results of the Study Mean?

GEVA’s study, conducted from August to November 20, received over 23,000 responses from 18 different countries. Only countries with over 100 respondents are included in the results.

To most accurately reflect the views of EV owners around the world, the results were been weighted based on each country’s share of the total global EV fleet. For example, results from the U.S. are weighted up due to their large share of EVs compared to the rest of the world, while results from Sweden are weighted down, because they represent a smaller share of the total world fleet. China, a market with a very high number of EVs on the road, was not included in the survey.

The U.S.’s large presence in the survey results suggests that headlines claiming a roll-back in EV interest are likely overblown; as almost all EV drivers know, once they’ve experienced going electric, they’re likely to never go back to gas.