Transportation

Battleground For Electric Vehicles Is Wide Open, J.D. Power Finds


New and established carmakers have many mountains to climb as they battle to introduce successful vehicles in an increasingly crowded marketplace. But one mountain they won’t have to scale is gaining consumer purchase consideration. Right now the playing field for electric vehicle (EV) makers and marketers is wide open, according to the inaugural J.D. Power U.S. Electric Vehicle Consideration (EVC) Study released today. While Tesla Motors enjoys a dominant market share among EVs, both current EV owners and potential EV buyers give indications that they are willing to look beyond Tesla for their next EV purchase.

The biggest hurdle to new battery-electric vehicles’ (BEVs) acceptance in the U.S. market is not the Tesla lineup. It’s the fact that despite a growing number of entries in the EV segments, the American driving public seems lukewarm at best about what is considered by many a still-new technology.

“Right now, the projected BEV supply outweighs consumer interest,” said Stewart Stropp, senior director, automotive retail at J.D. Power. “And for every new-vehicle shopper seriously considering BEVs, there’s another at the opposite end of the spectrum.”

That doesn’t exactly sound like a recipe for instant success, but the J.D. Power study did suggest that a skeptical public could be turned into battery-electric vehicle “intenders” with some relatively simple steps. Like getting consumers into EVs, for one thing.

Currently, more than half (59%) of new-vehicle shoppers fall into the “somewhat likely” or “somewhat unlikely” categories when it comes to considering a BEV for their next purchase or lease. While that wishy-washy result doesn’t necessarily bode well for the electric vehicle category, J.D. Power calls it “a significant window of opportunity for future EV sales.”

One reason for that optimism is the fact that simply riding in an EV tends to create converts to the technology. Survey respondents who have just ridden in a BEV are nearly three times more likely to consider buying an EV seriously than those who have never been in one (20% to 7%, respectively.)

For their part, many early adopters who are currently driving EVs need little or no convincing to purchase another. Among consumers who say they have owned or leased a BEV in the past, 46% are “very likely” to consider another, while only 6% say they are “very unlikely” to consider purchasing another BEV as their next vehicle. Even those who have been less than thrilled with a past or current EV purchase seem willing to give EV technology another chance. The recently released J.D. Power 2021 U.S. Electric Vehicle Experience Ownership Study found even among “dissatisfied” owners with overall satisfaction scores below 600 on a 1,000-point scale, 65% say they “definitely will” consider an EV for their next purchase.

All this suggests that if current and future BEV makers use tactics to persuade consumers to try or even just ride in an electric vehicle, their future will be brighter.

“Anything stakeholders can do to get more people into electric vehicles, whether it’s experiential events, take-home test drives, or other proactive efforts, will help break down the preconceptions people have about BEVs and drive higher consideration,” Stropp said.

While Tesla is the current 800-lb gorilla among EV manufacturers, its current and future competitors can find some solace in the fact that the brand’s owners are willing to consider other brands. More than one-fourth (27%) of shoppers who are considering a BEV say a Tesla model is their top choice. But only 4% of respondents among whom Tesla is the top choice say they are only considering a Tesla.

“One could argue this indicates that, while Tesla’s appeal is clearly formidable, it’s not absolute and could be displaced by a worthy alternative,” Stropp said.



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