The consulting firm McKinsey & Co has conducted an extensive survey on electric cars in which 30,000 respondents in 15 different countries have answered 200 questions.
It is often said by proponents of electric cars that those who have once switched to an electric car can never imagine switching back to a petrol or diesel car.
However, the results of the study suggest that this is not necessarily the case, reports Automotive News.
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Many people with an electric car are considering a petrol car
Globally, 29 percent of respondents said they would consider replacing their electric car with a traditional diesel or gasoline car the next time it’s time to switch. For the United States, that figure is 46 percent, i.e. almost half.
At the same time, it remains difficult to convince more of those who currently do not own an electric car to take the leap into the future.
38 percent of those who do not own an electric car respond that they can imagine an electric car or plug-in hybrid as their next car, which is only one percentage point higher than last year.
21 percent of respondents state that they do not want to buy an electric car at all.
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Poor charging network and expensive ownership costs
The main reason given by owners for considering replacing the electric car is that the public charging network is still too poor.
The second most common reason is high ownership costs, followed by the need for a car that performs better on longer journeys.
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Many still continue with electric cars
However, the fact that many are considering switching from an electric car to a petrol car is not to be equated with people actually taking the step back to more traditional propulsion.
In the first quarter of 2024, 68 percent of those who already owned an electric car chose to buy an electric car again.
Among Tesla owners, the figure was even higher, as 77 percent chose to buy an electric car again.
The fact that consumers are still not convinced by electric cars can spell trouble for the car industry.
– Car manufacturers and suppliers must now invest in several technologies, says the McKinsey partner Kevin Laczkowski in the report.
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