Australians believe electric vehicles (EVs) are too expensive to buy and charging infrastructure is too limited, research has found.
It comes regardless Electric vehicle sales increased again in the first quarter of 2024, an increase of 46.4% over the same period last year and accounting for 8.3% of total new vehicle deliveries.
The Australian Automobile Dealers Association's (AADA) 2024 Automotive Statistics publication outlines the biggest barriers facing the auto industry if it wants to increase electric vehicle adoption.
Data comes from Zing Insights' January 2024 Electric and Hybrid Vehicles report, which surveyed 2000 Australian drivers about their current and future car buying habits.
According to research, 57% of new car buyers in Australia believe battery-powered cars are too expensive.
This is a decrease from 62% in December 2022, although it still represents more than half of Australians looking to buy a new car.
According to the report, new car buyers are willing to pay up to 8% more for an electric vehicle than an equivalent gasoline-powered model – although there remains a large price gap between combustion vehicles and equivalent electric vehicles.
For context, a turbocharged gasoline engine MG ZST stimulation priced from $29,490 drive-away across Australia, while the car is less well equipped ZS EV Excite is $39,990 drive-away – or an extra 36%.
The lack of charging stations and infrastructure to support electric vehicles is the second biggest deterrent for buyers, with 50% of respondents citing this as a reason they are not switching from energy efficient. gasoline or diesel.
New car buyers are also worried about not having a suitable home charging setup (44% of respondents) and are concerned about the electric vehicle's insufficient driving range (39%).
Interestingly, while only 20% of those surveyed said they did not see a need to switch to electric vehicles, concerns about the resale value of electric vehicles were the lowest concern, with only 17% said this was a factor.
However, the survey also found that the appeal of zero tailpipe emissions is the biggest factor behind switching to electric vehicles, with 67% of respondents believing electric cars are better for environment.
The biggest year-on-year increase in reasons why drivers are considering buying an electric vehicle is because of lower running costs compared to petrol and diesel vehicles, with 54% of those surveyed saying that this is a key factor – up from 45% in December 2022.
Additional data in the report shows that 27% of new car buyers are willing to use an electric vehicle as their primary or secondary vehicle, although only 15% of used car buyers want to go electric for their car. their main bowl.
As with New car sales rankingsPetrol still dominates as the fuel of choice for buyers for their next main vehicle, with 62% of respondents opting for unleaded.
However, 80% of those surveyed want a gasoline engine for their non-primary vehicles, whether it's for weekend driving, road trips or for other uses.
In contrast to the current new car market, hybrid cars are considered more than diesel cars for mainstream cars, then hybrid cars are also behind electric cars and plug-in hybrids.
