Environmental Reason Behind Shift to EVs, Buyers In India Worried About Charging Time: Report

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The latest Global Automotive Consumer Study by Deloitte shows that when it comes to the usage of electric vehicles battery-related concerns persist higher among Indian consumers. The study showed that around 43 percent of car buyers in India say the time required to charge an electric vehicle is one of the greatest concerns regarding EVs. Along with that, 40 percent of the consumers are also worried about the safety issues that might arise with the battery technology.

Further, 42 percent of car buyers also added that the lack of public electric vehicle charging infrastructure is the greatest concern, revealed the study. 30 percent of consumers are also concerned about the lack of an alternate source of power at home for charging their vehicle. The study also found that only 40% of surveyed consumers in India expect more than 400 km as far as driving range is concerned, whereas 67% of consumers in Germany expect the same as a prerequisite to consider a BEV as a viable option for their next vehicle.

Overall, the survey found that the assumption that EV charge times need to be on par with fossil fuel fill-ups may be somewhat overstated-
ed as surveyed consumers in most markets are willing to wait longer than 10 minutes to refuel. In India, 37 percent of buyers responded that they are willing to wait for 21-40 minutes for charging their vehicles from empty to 80 percent while 25 percent said that they can wait up to 60 minutes. It was only 5 percent of the people responded saying that they could not wait for more than 10 minutes.

The Deloitte survey also found that nearly half of Indian consumers are making a decisive shift towards Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) while moving away from traditional Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) technology. In most markets surveyed, the main reason consumers intend to acquire an electrified vehicle stems from a strong desire to lower their operating costs – outstripping the concern for global climate change, read the survey report.

According to the Deloitte report, surprisingly, India had a whopping 68 percent of respondents who said that their shift to EVs is driven by concern for the environment while 63 percent said that lower fuel costs are the reason behind moving to electric vehicles. 56 percent of people added that lower maintenance is the key reason behind opting for an EV, the survey revealed.

The study by Deloitte also shed light that against the backdrop of uncertain economic conditions causing concern for financial capacity, a significant number of younger consumers in many markets are at least somewhat interested in giving up vehicle ownership altogether in favour of a subscription model.