Why some electric car owners return to gas – the reasons aren’t surprising

[firsttruck]

OK, got a chance to skim the report. The report is not going to be useful.

Look at the appendixes to see breakdowns of some of the data.
About 800 PHEV owners & 1,054 BEV owners but most vehicles are old BEV technology (2011 - 2016).
Only 177 Teslas in the whole thing.

The ratings are really brought down by Ford ( -27%), Fiat ( -38%) and Hyundai (-53%). But even the much ballyhooed Toyota PHEV has high discontinued rate of 24% while Nissan and Kia have lower discontinued rates.

Tesla had best discontinued rate at a low 9% and that too is old Tesla tech (Model X, Model S, 2011 -2016) with really no Model 3s and incomplete SuperCharger network.

 

[JJ_Tex]

This article is really just about how you spin the numbers. It could just have easily been titled "82% of EV owners purchase another EV as their next purchase".

You can either focus on the 18% that go back to ICE for whatever reason, or the 82% that do not.


I'm fully anticipating the same type of spin on the CT pre-orders to say something like "Half of Cybertruck pre-order customers cancel their orders." Unfortunately that is the sad state of journalism that they make more money by having slanted articles that work people up, rather than just objectively providing the info for the reader.

 

[ThomasG]

It would be interesting to know how many of those who switched back were in one vehicle households and how many take long trips. I know people who have one of each in their household and the ICE is used for trips and the person who has the short commute uses it and the EV gets used for the long commute and around town stuff. They do have a good charger in the garage, so it gets topped up every night. Best of both worlds in other words. I suspect that if someone can come up with a battery and charger that puts 200 miles into the EV in 5 minutes, they will go EV with both.

 

[DarinCT]

Took the Prius to the gas station today $4.15/gallon. Our fill-up was $33.-

I wonder what ICE vehicles they went back to. I wonder how much of it was financial versus infrastructure.

234.7.Likelihood to purchase a BEV or PHEV in future purchasesThe survey asked respondents “Thinking about your next vehicle purchase how likely are you to purchase one of the following vehicle types?” for BEVs and PHEVs. Figure 9shows answers to this question for those that continued or discontinued ownership and for those that previously owned a BEV or PHEV. 24.3% of those that discontinued BEV ownership are unlikely to purchase a BEV, 10.5% are unsure, and 65.2% are likely to purchase one.

1 out of 4 did and say they won't go back. Not good. Winning back a lost customer is much harder than gaining a new customer.

 

[Crissa]

Looking at the numbers, the only really clear difference in the keepers and the not is charging infrastructure:

Those who kept it were more likely to be able to charge at home, on level 2. And those who didn't keep it were more likely than not to say public charging sucked.

-Crissa

 

[73Landau]

So people trade in their Fiat 500e for a gas vehicle. What a shocker!

Or anything.....pushbike, skateboard,....

 

[Challeco]

... still tend to be supported/sold by dealerships that hate selling EVs.

If my only EV experience was with non-Tesla vehicles then the big EV wins would not be looking very real or useful. In fact for my next vehicle, if I cannot buy a Tesla then going back to ICE would actually be easier and more convenient.

Your observation about the dealerships hits close to home where I live. The local Ford dealership had a Mach E for sale on their lot for quite a while. Until someone where I work bought it for a deep discount. There is a lot of issue to unpack with this purchase. But, there was only ONE BEV mustang for sale, which screams "they had to". I agree with you about Tesla. The non Tesla offerings are just not well supported without markups that make the "fuel" costs too similar. I love having a 220V charger at my home for my Model 3. My wife doesn't even hook up every day anymore. She lets the car get down to about 100 miles or so before she puts it on overnight. Also, my monthly electricity bill hasn't gone up considerably. I weld, I build, and I work on my vehicles with plenty of tools that require electricity. These daily costs versus the nightly costs of charging the Model 3 are acceptable and a far cry better than my gasoline costs over the months.

 

[Crissa]

How could a Mach E sit on a lot for a long while? They just started delivering them last quarter.

-Crissa

 

[TheLastStarfighter]

Looking at the numbers, the only really clear difference in the keepers and the not is charging infrastructure:

Those who kept it were more likely to be able to charge at home, on level 2. And those who didn't keep it were more likely than not to say public charging sucked.

-Crissa

I see there being two. The point you mention - home charging - is obviously big. Interestingly, that should impact men more than women, as single women are more likely to own a home than single men. But since women were more likely to go back to gas, I think there is another issue: vehicle choice. All EV's are far from equal. Men are more likely to buy a Tesla and Tesla buyers are unlikely to switch back. Fiat 500e's are more likely to be bought by women, and more likely to totally suck.

 

[Crissa]

Fiats were cheaper. Which tracks with men having more spending money.

I don't think we can learn anything about gender from this survey, though, there were too few women in it, aside from the fact that EVs were seen just like coupes or flashy trucks are: More as playthings than as regular choices yet.

-Crissa

 

[firsttruck]

Very interesting that the percentage of light-duty vehicle is by people living in multi-unit dwellings (MUD) in California (20%) is similar to the percent of EV owners that discontinued EVs (mostly for charging difficulties).

-----------------------------------------

INCREASING ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING ACCESS AT MULTI-UNIT DWELLINGS: WORKSHOP SUMMARY REPORT BY SARA BALDWIN, AMANDA MYERS, MICHAEL O’BOYLE
SEPTEMBER 2020
https://energyinnovation.org/wp-con...e-Charging-at-Multi-Unit-Dwellings_FINAL3.pdf

This report summarizes a virtual workshop with top academic, non-profit, industry, and governmental leaders convened with the aim of identifying barriers to increasing electric vehicle charging access for multi-unit dwellers in California and proposing ideas for solutions to those barriers.

.....
Nearly 50 percent of Californians reside in multi-unit dwellings (MUD)(apartments, duplexes, condos, etc) and about 20 percent of the state’s light-duty vehicle fleet is located at these residences


-----------------------------------------

 

[rr6013]

Very interesting that the percentage of light-duty vehicle is by people living in multi-unit dwellings (MUD) in California (20%) is similar to the percent of EV owners that discontinued EVs (mostly for charging difficulties).

-----------------------------------------

1INCREASING ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING ACCESS AT MULTI-UNIT DWELLINGS: WORKSHOP SUMMARY REPORT BY SARA BALDWIN, AMANDAMYERS, MICHAEL O’BOYLE
SEPTEMBER 2020
https://energyinnovation.org/wp-con...e-Charging-at-Multi-Unit-Dwellings_FINAL3.pdf

This report summarizes a virtual workshop with top academic, non-profit, industry, and governmental leaders convened with the aim of identifying barriers to increasing electric vehicle charging access for multi-unit dwellers in California and proposing ideas for solutions to those barriers.

.....
Nearly 50 percent of Californians reside in multi-unit dwellings (MUD)(apartments, duplexes, condos, etc) and about 20 percent of the state’s light-duty vehicle fleet is located at these residences


-----------------------------------------

Not only MUD. They have to confront the fact 70% of Californians live in HOA. BEV industry doesn’t want a repeat of the satellite dish fiasco HOA created when the satellite dish went mainstream. Parking is HOA constrained so adding charging spots, hardware and traffic in-out is friction the BEV industry will need to design charging schemes around.

 

[Crissa]

California has required charging-station wiring into any new homes and has forbade HOAs from blocking charging station retrofits.

-Crissa

 

[Challeco]

How could a Mach E sit on a lot for a long while? They just started delivering them last quarter.

-Crissa

It is a matter of perception. This dealership is rather large for our town of 12,000 population. The whole statement validates the "long while". The dealership had a single Mach E, did not promote the Mach E, never put it in their prime advertising spot or close to their main thoroughfare. As a side observation, we have Ford, Dodge, and Chevrolet dealerships ONLY in my town. None of them promote their E.V. lineups. I know there are three Teslas in my town two model 3 and one model Y. There is one Mach E. There is an additional Tesla that belongs to a Locum Tenens physician that travels to our hospital. Other than the four of us my area still doesn't understand E.V.s as anything but weak, difficult, and expensive.

 

[Cybertruck Hawaii]

I’m willing to swap my Cybertruck battery for a charged up one on the condition that I don’t get a very old battery pack in return that can’t hold its charge. I used to drive a battery forklift at the post office and we would swap battery or just plug it in. Sometimes I would get a very old battery that would not hold its charge.