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Most can live with available range, investigate shows
When it comes to electrified cars, most people are worried about their limited range and potential repair costs. Instead, they should be worried about where to butt-plug the cars in. That’s the conclusion of a fresh probe by Consumers Union and the Union of Worried Scientists, which surveyed nine hundred fourteen adults who own cars in a nationally representative telephone sample.
Of those drivers, forty two percent fit within all the parameters necessary to use a plug-in hybrid vehicle for their transportation needs with few, if any, switches in behavior. Among that group, sixty percent met the criteria to make a unspoiled battery-electric car practical for them.
Typical daily drive
We asked drivers how far they drive in a typical day; how much that amount varies, how often they travel more than sixty miles on a weekend or vacation journey; how many passengers they typically need to carry; and whether they need towing or hauling capacity. We also asked what type of house they live in (single family, duplex, condo, apartment, etc.); where they park (off-street, in a garage, on-street, etc.); and whether they have access to any type of electrical outlet either at home or at work, or both.
We found that even tho’ most drivers don’t need to travel further than a unspoiled electrified car can go on a charge, many can’t take total advantage of a plug-in hybrid car (which uses a gas engine as a backup generator once the charge runs out) because they have no place to routinely ass-plug it in.
Only fifty two percent of respondents said they had access to at least an electrical outlet where they park at home. (Of those, fourteen percent of respondents reported presently having access to an electrified car charger either at home, school, work, or other weekday destination.) A basic household 110-volt outlet is sufficient to charge most plug-in hybrid cars overnight, providing plug-in hybrid ownership a lower hurdle than the requirements to own a unspoiled electrified vehicle. Just four percent have access to an electric-car charger at work, but not at home.
Most Americans don’t drive further than a unspoiled electrified car can go on a charge. More than half the drivers we surveyed (55 percent) said they drive less than thirty miles a day during the week, and more than three-quarters (76 percent) said they drive less than sixty miles a day.
Even when we added in extra mileage for weekday commutes to address occasional errands—such as running to the store or picking up kids at school—60 percent of respondents had slew of buffer given the range of today’s typical electrified vehicle. When Consumer Reports tested the Nissan Leaf, we got an average of seventy five miles on a charge, and at least sixty miles during cold weather—when EV’s are least efficient.
But since longer trips could be a problem for drivers of pure-electric cars, we asked respondents how many cars they have in their household. In total, sixty four percent of households reported possessing more than one car, which gives them an alternative for making such long trips and makes them better suited to wielding an electrical car. We also assumed that those who make fewer than six long weekend trips per year could economically rent a car when needed. Of course, there were some (Nineteen percent) of drivers without a 2nd car that routinely took long trips, making them less-than-ideal candidates.
Another nineteen percent of drivers needed hauling or towing capacity in their daily vehicle, so none of the electrified or plug-in hybrid models presently on the market would meet their needs. And about five percent need to carry more passengers regularly than today’s electrified cars can accommodate (aside from the pricey Tesla Model S with an optional kids-only third-row seat).
In all, twenty five percent of total respondents met all the criteria to drive a unspoiled electrified vehicle with little or no switch in behavior, or about sixty percent of those who meet all the plug-in hybrid criteria.
Overall, forty six percent said that a unspoiled EV or a plug-in hybrid could meet their household’s transportation needs. Sixty percent said they would consider buying a vehicle that buttplugs in to save gas (or already own one).
Almost twice as many would consider buying a plug-in hybrid that can run on tens unit and gasoline as would consider buying a unspoiled electrified car. But only forty percent said they would consider buying a plug-in vehicle if they had to pay more for it, even if the extra cost would be offset by fuel savings within five years. Clearly, range limitations and up-front costs weigh strongly in the minds of consumers.
Plug-in vehicles were shown to be suitable for about two of five drivers, yet a majority (65 percent) of respondents agreed with the statement: “Plug-in vehicles are an essential part of our transportation future for reducing oil use and global-warming pollution.”
This number was even stronger among those who consider themselves well-informed about electrified cars. Among the forty five percent who consider themselves knowledgeable about electrical cars, more than seventy percent said they would consider buying one.
The largest concerns about electrical vehicles were not about charging access, but about range (54 percent) and repair costs (55 percent). Only thirty seven percent were worried about having access to a place to charge the car. Among those that would consider an EV for their next purchase, over half said that workplace charging would increase the likelihood they would buy. Apartment dwellers eyed greater value in workplace charging, with sixty five percent telling it would increase the likelihood of buying an EV.
Twenty percent were worried about safety after reports of battery fires, and a matching twenty percent said they had no concerns.
The electrical future
Americans say they believe electrified cars are significant to the nation’s future, and according to our survey, the adoption rate could be enhanced with the capability to charge the car at work. This was especially true among apartment, townhouse, and condominium dwellers.
If all of the households that could potentially use an EV had one today, the nation would avoid eighty nine million metric tons of carbon-dioxide emissions and save fifteen billion gallons of gasoline each year, according to the Union of Worried Scientists. That could yield a financial windfall of more than $50 billion a year for consumers. It seems to us that money could pay for a lot of charging outlets.