Europeans Still Don't Want EVs, Study Shows

Unlike in the US, where the electric vehicle frenzy seems to have engulfed the nation, the European customers still don't plan to buy such a car in the near future. At least, this is what a new study conducted by Deloitte on 4,760 European consumers revealed.

Be it because of the lack of an infrastructure (an issue on verge to be addressed in the US) or because the EVs haven't managed to impress the public yet, the Europeans are still reluctant. Only 16 percent of those questioned say they plan to become first adopters and only 53 percent saying they might consider buying an EV. A large 31 percent of the Europeans have no intention of buying or leasing an electric vehicle.

Of those who by some miracle plan to buy an electric car, a huge 80 percent say that is not the price of the car itself that matters, but the convenience to charge, range, and the cost to charge. 57 percent of them, however, don't want to spend on an electric car more than they would have spent on a regular vehicle.

“For mass adoption, manufacturers will need to meet the challenge of pricing electric vehicles in line with consumer expectations, while still maximising their margins,” concluded David Raistrick, automotive partner and head of manufacturing at Deloitte.

“Consumers are not likely to want to pay a high price premium for EVs. This means that incentives such as tax reductions and exemptions will be very important to the purchase decision. Just like the Government supported the highly successful car scrappage scheme, they should now be turning their attention to electric vehicles.”