After buying one, most EV owners don’t have the same concerns about the car they did before. Most Canadians who own electric vehicles (EVs) will buy another, and many of the concerns they had before they bought one have diminished substantially since then, but public charging remains a concern for many. According to a recent survey by CAA, more than 16,000 electric vehicle owners surveyed across the country.
According to the CAA survey, 97% of EV owners wish to buy another one in the future
Once people owned an EV, they stopped worrying about range, cold-weather performance, and battery life
Most EV owners use a gasoline vehicle for long trips due to a lack of public charging stations
The survey found that drivers who buy EVs are very satisfied with them, with 97% of respondents saying they would buy another when it’s time to replace the one they have. Comparing their EV to a gasoline vehicle, 89% said they enjoy driving it more; 95% found it more affordable; and 92% said it’s a quieter ride. Owning and driving the vehicle made a difference in the concerns they had about EVs overall before they bought one. While none of the respondents did a complete turnaround, worries about the range dropped by 37 percentage points to 30%. Concerns about the vehicle’s performance in cold weather fell by 25 percentage points, to 33%. The largest drop was in concerns about battery degradation, which fell 41 percentage points to 13%.
Many owners surveyed said that public charging is still an issue for them. For instance, 44% said that the availability of chargers is an issue, and 36% said that they don’t have enough confidence in public infrastructure to take their EVs on a long road trip. Additionally, 67% of these respondents still have a gasoline vehicle in the driveway.
“EVs are growing in popularity, but a lot of people still have questions,” Ian Jack, CAA National’s vice-president for public affairs, said. The research, which examines the actual experiences of EV drivers in Canada, sheds light on where the real pain points are, and where potential buyers can perhaps reduce their worries.
In the U.S., Plug In America conducted a survey in 2022, and found that 90% of EV owners said they were “likely” or “very likely” to purchase another electric vehicle in the future. 34% of Tesla owners were concerned about broken or malfunctioning chargers, or insufficient charging locations, with public charging being the most common concern. Tesla owners were the exception, with only 3% complaining about broken chargers, and 2% complaining about charging station availability.