Range anxiety, environmental concerns, sticker shock and fear of new technology top the list of consumer hesitancy
Boston, MA, July 18, 2023 – Electric vehicle sales grew 55 percent in the U.S. from 2021 to 2022, but some consumers remain hesitant about ditching their gasoline-fueled cars for a variety of reasons. Kate Harrison, co founder and Head of Marketing of MoveEV, an AI-backed green tech solution, that helps organizations and municipalities convert fleet and employee-owned gas vehicles to electric, take advantage of tax incentives, and reimburse employees for charging at home, debunks consumer’s greatest fears about purchasing EVs:
Range anxiety – While electric vehicles date back to the 1800s (when they were marketed as electric-powered carriages), the GM’s EV1 was the first modern day all-electric vehicle. It debuted in 1996 with an estimated range of 74 miles – enough to get around town but not enough to go much further, especially given the paltry charging options at the time. Unfortunately, electric vehicle tech was not as quick to progress as public interest, and most EVs manufactured before 2016 offered their drivers relatively limited range. Thus, “range anxiety” entered the zeitgeist.
However, in the last five years, everything related to EVs has improved. The average range for an electric vehicle in 2023 is closer to 300 miles, with some models getting more than 400 miles per charge ― the same or more than one tank of gasoline powers the average combustion-engine car. The charging infrastructure has also matured. Even older-model EVs with more limited range now have many more options for charging on the go. Today there are more than 50,000 public charging stations in the U.S. ― a 40 percent increase since Jan. 2021. Those numbers will only increase as more public– and private-sector investment dollars flow into public charging.
Home charging has gotten less expensive to install, as well, and many companies now offer some charging at work. For commuters whose employers offer EV chargers in their employee parking spaces, “filling up” is as simple as plugging in at the beginning of your shift and unplugging when you clock out. If your local shopping center has a public EV charger, you can now fuel up while you shop ― a process that comes with less idle time than filling up at a gas tank and often is free to boot. And let’s not forget that all EVs can charge from regular outlets in a pinch (a.k.a. trickle charging), and those are literally everywhere.
In the early days of gas vehicles, drivers had range anxiety about running out of gasoline. No one talks about that anymore. Electricity is already a more widely available resource than crude oil, so range anxiety is more about outdated information than the reality on the ground. As public charging stations and the number of consumers actually driving EVs become more plentiful, the boogeyman of range anxiety will fade into history, too.
Environmental Concerns – It’s easy for car buyers to be scared off by concerns about the strain EVs pose to the energy grid. Here again, it’s important to look forward, not backward.
America’s energy grid is getting greener every year. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) projects solar energy’s share of the total available installed generating capacity to double from Dec. 2022 to Nov. 2025. FERC also projects wind and hydropower capacities to increase. EVs also provide the compounding benefit from serving as a backup source of power when equipped with appropriate bidirectional (two-way) charging equipment.
Switching from a gasoline-powered car to an EV today projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent or more over the full lifecycle of a vehicle. Even in areas where electricity comes 100 percent from burning coal, EVs still reduce total emissions up to 30 percent.
The scarcity of lithium ― the element that powers batteries for electric cars ― is easy to overstate. A decade ago, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated the Earth’s total lithium reserves at 13 million tons; today that estimate is about 88 million. That number will only become less important as automakers (including Tesla) continue to explore non-lithium sources of battery power.
Regardless of the power source, mining activity and its associated costs pale in comparison to the benefits of increased EV manufacturing. The International Energy Agency (IEA), while highlighting the need to responsibly produce scarce minerals in the global transition to clean energy, notes in no uncertain terms, “emissions from mineral development do not negate the climate advantages of clean energy technologies.” Mass EV adoption can only help the environment come out on top.
Sticker shock – EVs are becoming more affordable, thanks to government incentives and falling prices for lithium and other battery materials. According to the New York Times, the average cost of a new EV could match the average cost of a gas-powered vehicle as early as this year. The used EV market is also growing stronger, and presents a viable option for budget-conscious consumers.
While the average cost of a new EV is currently around $65,000, a battery-powered version of GM’s Equinox crossover will start around $30,000 when it arrives this fall. The Chevy Bolt and Nissan Leaf already carry a base price tag under $30,000. Tesla recently cut prices for the Model 3 and Model Y, its two best-selling electric cars, by thousands of dollars. Factoring in possible state and federal rebates, the actual sticker price of these vehicles is lower ― by as much as $15,000 in Colorado in 2024, for example.
Sticker price aside, the best selling point for the cost of an EV is the cost of gas over its lifetime: $0. The average American driver can expect to save $2,000 to $4,000 a year on gas and maintenance costs alone compared to the cost of owning and driving a gasoline-powered car. Here again, consumer education is key, as few people think about total cost of ownership when making buying decisions. Many of today’s EVs are a bargain.
Operating EVs is not intuitive – Much like the first experience using a touch screen phone, when consumers first get into a modern EV they may feel out of place. The most popular EV brand, Tesla, has replaced almost all of the manual controls with a single touch screen interface and there is no one or off button – the car just knows when you are inside or have left and starts or locks and shuts down accordingly. It can be disorienting.
Charging is also new and poses challenges for consumers. Nissan publicly admitted that it struggled for years to make charging its EVs less of a hassle and efforts are underway to establish interoperability among charging connectors. There is still no standard location for charging ports on vehicles and which connectors the vehicles come with varies.
So the operational challenges are real, but like any new technology, people get used to the changes, and EVs are becoming more user-friendly as they evolve. The regenerative braking systems used by EVs may be new, but they are hardly unfamiliar. The basic principle of “tap the accelerator to speed up” still applies. Many advanced EV safety features (like adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, forward-collision warning, lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assist, lane-centering assist, and rear automatic emergency braking) were designed with drivers in mind.
Other EV features go above and beyond. The new BMW ‘i’ models feature a state-of-the-art infotainment system built around a 14.9-inch, ultra-high-resolution touchscreen, and can be controlled through a smartphone app.
As the technology continues to evolve, costs fall, and public charging points proliferate, driver confidence in electric vehicles will only increase. Besides these practical considerations, the cultural understanding of EVs is changing. They can now be rented at the airport alongside gas-powered cars. A robust secondary market is weakening the perception of EVs as a luxury item. The first sight of a new model driving through your neighborhood normalizes the sights and sounds of EV ownership. All of these factors have the effect of demystifying EVs, and reducing fears in the process.
About Kate Harrison
Kate Harrison is the co-founder and Head of Marketing at MoveEV, an AI-backed green tech solution, that helps organizations and municipalities convert fleet and employee-owned gas vehicles to electric, take advantage of tax incentives, and reimburse employees for charging at home. With more than a decade of experience as a serial entrepreneur and seasoned marketer, Kate has worked with small businesses, nonprofits, and government organizations to make the world a better place. She is a best-selling author, thought leader, and frequent speaker at conferences and events, sharing her insights and experiences with others who are working to create a more sustainable future.
About MoveEV
MoveEV® is an EV transition company powered by an AI-backed green tech solution, that helps organizations and municipalities convert fleet and employee-owned gas vehicles to electric, take advantage of tax incentives, and reimburse employees for charging at home.
For fleets, MoveEV provides AI-backed fleet conversion, planning, and management software, with a team of experts and project managers overseeing the entire process. They also offer new KPIs and metrics for reporting on vehicle emissions and future charging infrastructure needs.
For employees, MoveEV offers a groundbreaking HR benefits solution that guides employees through the entire EV adoption process, including finding the right vehicle, monitoring supply chain issues, suggesting appropriate charging, and navigating applicable incentives.
