85% of EV drivers are happy they switched to electric driving

According to Electric Cars Report via the Manifesto for Electric Mobility*, "A survey of over 850 electric drivers based in Europe and North America... was released publicly during rEVolution 2017 [in Amsterdam], an annual gathering for e-mobility thought leaders that brought together 240 industry participants." Furthermore, "The survey was answered by electric vehicle drivers, with the majority of respondent’s male (91%) and above 45 years old (58%). The respondents come from The Netherlands (40%), United States (35%) and 32 other European and North American countries, including United Kingdom, Canada, Norway, and Germany." 

Image: Wikipedia

The survey, "was conducted November 2016 and February 2017 for 100 days. It was distributed to and via the professional network and customer base of EV-Box, as well as to the public, through news sources (i.e. CleanTechnica), newsletters (i.e. Electrive.com), and social media (i.e. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn)... [and] consisted of 63 questions focusing on both electric driving and charging, including the incentives, the experience, the satisfaction, and the needs."

Image: Wikipedia

The survey showed that 85% of respondents are happy they switched from gas-guzzlers to battery electric power. In addition, there were some other notable findings from the study:

• 51% of electric drivers say that contributing to a sustainable future is the main reason to purchase an electric car
• 55% of electric drivers are unhappy with the current availability of charging points
• 47% of electric drivers want to have online connectivity on their home charging station to track and bill their charging sessions
• 42% of electric drivers say that the main incentive to buy a charging station is to charge faster
• 55% of electric drivers have never used a public fast (DC) charging station
• 56% of all electric drivers rank retail areas as the top location to add charging facilities

Source: Electric Cars Report via the Manifesto for Electric Mobility*

Although the survey focused much of its questions around charging stations, it was notable that 75% of survey respondents spent the majority of their time charging at home (either in their garage or driveway, see above). And, even though Tesla's strategy for their Supercharger network places it's charging stations strategically along major highways along popular road trip routes, survey respondents desire more charging at retail locations (see below). It appears Tesla may be moving in that direction by expanding into city centers moving forward. Presumably, its city-based Superchargers will be located nearby retail locations much like many of its Destination Chargers.

Source: Electric Cars Report via the Manifesto for Electric Mobility*

So what kind of electric cars were most prevalent in the survey? "The most popular models are Nissan Leaf and Tesla Model S. Other recurring models include Chevrolet Volt, Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, BMW i3, Volvo V60, Renault ZOE, VW Golf GTE, Audi A3 eTron, and Tesla Model X." The study also found that: "Fully-electric cars are the most popular in North America, while PHEV [Plugin hybrid electric vehicles] sales are higher in The Netherlands and Belgium."

Source: Electric Cars Report via the Manifesto for Electric Mobility*

And it appears that the younger generation surveyed is primed for battery electric driving. The study's results showed that: "The youngest age group [18-34 yo] has significantly more BEV drivers (72%) than PHEV drivers (28%). All other age groups show an equal amount of BEV and PHEV drivers." And interestingly, of all regions surveyed in the study, "North America had the largest group of younger electric drivers."

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*Source: Electric Cars Report via Manifesto for Electric Mobility (EV-Box)