Parting with tens of thousands of pounds to buy an EV and not doing any research is setting yourself up for failure and disappointment. I'd hope that nobody would do that. Even in the past moving from one ICE to another I would be doing extended test drives, comparisons, and reading up on reviews, opinions and specifications. Moving to a completely different type of 'fuel' without a good amount of research to make sure it's actually suitable for your needs seems totally crazy to me.
Do you think the
majority of people research anything before buying it?
Chelsea mum walks into a Range Rover Dealership, do you think she checks the mpg? The technology? If it will fit through the Width restrictions on Albert Bridge in London? No. They will spend £100k+ on a new top end model because they can get it on Rose metallic colour with a white leather interior.
Do you think people research the best 4k Smart TV before buying or just walk into a showroom and by the one that looks the biggest with the brightest screen?
Do you think people research their new phone? No they just walk into the local EE store, say they want an upgrade and tell them they they like Apple products ... walk out with an iPhone 11 with 16gb of storage on a 2 year contract at £77 per week.
(true story!)
You say people must be crazy ... maybe ... I always do my research on anything. However For everyone one of me I can name 10+ people that just walk into a shop, buy X then just expect X to work and do what it was brought for.
If charging to 80% is extremely important then the dealership needs to tell them on collection, or a big RED Button needs to appear on the entertainment screen saying
"Are you sure you want to go past 80%? This could result in greater battery degradation and lose of max range!"
A few years ago EV's were more enthusiast cars, and you only got in to it if you knew what you was doing. Now I'm not going to say EV's are main stream yet ... but I know a few people that are considering an EV just for the environmental impact and know nothing about running an EV. They see the Soul or E-Niro and go .... well that's just a normal car with electric as it's fuel ... so I'll buy that. Then they just expect it to work. If no one tells them about 80%-100% speed lose at fast chargers they are NOT to blame.
My wife is a very intelligent person. She doesn't give two s**** about cars. Her questions were:-
1. Can I go to visit my friend Deborah in Lymington (about 125miles) without charging on the way?
2. If I go and plug it into her house to charge, how much money would it cost her so I can give her the money?
Other than that she doesn't care. On the test drive all she cared about was the boot being big enough, that the car didn't feel too big - as she prefers smaller cars, and that the seats were nice and comfortable for long trips.
I think you underestimate the ignorance of the majority of consumers. This isn't their fault ... society has protected them and made everything simple for their ease of use. They are now conditioned.
Like we are all impatient these days as we have been conditioned with fast food, apps that we can order to pick up on the go (coffee as an example), Tesco deliveries to the door, etc... we have to wait 3 months for a car and it's OMG I'm going to die waiting for this!
Even with rude people, be better than them, stay calm and treat them with respect.