U.S. plug-in electric vehicle sales in 2019 (329,528) declined by 9 percent compared to 2018 (361,307)
Why Is It So Hard to Buy an Electric Car in Many Parts of America?
Even in California, the nation’s largest Electric Vehicle market, many consumers have limited options.
Auto industry is itself partially to blame for last year’s stagnant market. And electric car manufacturers haven’t fully deployed their considerable resources to market and sell Electric Vehicles.
We know form a survey that nearly 600 volunteers visited more than 900 auto dealerships and stores across all 50 states and found that 74%t of dealerships do not have a single EV for sale on their lot.
What would happen if automakers pushed EVs more aggressively?
A Consumer Reports/Union of Concerned Scientists survey released in July 2019 found that 63 percent of Americans are interested in EVs and 31 percent would consider an EV for their next vehicle purchase. Two-thirds or more of respondents said they supported tax incentives and rebates for EVs, discounted rates for EV charging from utilities, and investment by their own state in EV charging infrastructure.
So, nearly one-third of Americans are already considering an EV purchase, and that’s with automakers making little effort to market the cars. The Sierra Club survey cites research (PDF) by the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM), a nonprofit association of air quality agencies, on recent automaker advertising expenditures.
In 2017, GM, Toyota, Nissan, Ford, Fiat-Chrysler and VW spent a combined $540 million to advertise their best-selling internal combustion engine car, amounting to an average of $90 million per car. The same six automakers together spent $29 million to advertise nine EV models, an average of $3.2 million per car.
Even in states with more robust EV standards and targets, the advertising disparity between ICE and EV models was similarly wide. The NESCAUM analysis found that in 2018 total advertising spending in the California and Northeast markets for the best-selling internal combustion engine car of each manufacturer was $230 million. Total advertising spending in the same markets for six EV models that year was $22 million.
The lack of education and outreach efforts is evident in the results of a new Ipsos survey (PDF) of consumers’ knowledge of battery electric vehicles. According to the global survey, “the U.S. exhibited some of the lowest familiarity with BEVs, with only 10 percent indicating they know them ‘very well.’”
Respondents thought it would be nearly five years before an EV hit the market that works with their budget and meets their needs, and nearly half mistakenly believe they would need to charge an EV once a day or more.
Consumers are clearly curious about electric vehicles. It’s time for automakers and dealerships to get serious about selling them.
Original News Link:
https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/why-is-it-so-hard-to-buy-an-electric-car
#Electric vehicle #Tesla #Volkswagen #Nissan
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