E-cars not convincing
Only one in two e-car drivers would recommend their vehicle to others. Only Tesla customers are really satisfied with their vehicle. The other manufacturers are still struggling, especially with the charging structure. No wonder, then, that the e-car is only slowly gaining acceptance in Germany.
In a survey by the electric car rental company Nextmove, 2800 e-car drivers were questioned. The result shows that not even 50 % of the drivers are satisfied with their vehicle. Only 47 % would recommend it to others.
The reason for this low conviction in green mobility is still mainly due to problems with the charging process. 62% said they often had problems with charging. 70 % are not satisfied with the apps they have to rely on to find the right charging station. Three quarters of the respondents are also not convinced by the concepts for charging planning. As many as 60 % lack storage space for the charging cable in the car. Too little charging power at the charging stations also annoys many customers, as it completely disrupts their schedules.
Nevertheless, the range of the e-cars has improved according to the survey. This caused customer satisfaction to rise. However, customers' expectations also increased over time. Customers are less and less forgiving of dealers' immature concepts in terms of range and charging processes.
The most satisfied customers are those of the US manufacturer Tesla. A full 81 % of them would recommend their vehicle to others. At Nissan, for example, the figure is only 19 %.
The survey shows why electric cars have not yet really caught on in Germany. The number of new registrations is rising rapidly: In the first quarter of 2021, the market share of purely electric cars was around 10%. If plug-in hybrids are included, it was as high as 22.5%. This is an increase of over 170% compared to the previous year. So electric cars are indeed becoming more popular.
But the figures for new registrations also mean that about three quarters of people who buy a new car still opt for a combustion engine. Surely this is also due to the experiences that other e-car drivers share with their peers.
So the manufacturers urgently need to address the problems, also in order not to lag behind in international comparison with manufacturers like Tesla. A reliable charging network urgently needs to be available for all brands in the near future. Otherwise, buyers will continue to fall back on the tried and tested combustion engines, or in the worst case scenario, current e-car drivers will switch back to diesel. The dream of green mobility and clean cities will then become a distant memory.