I can fill in some based on conversations I have had with friends and family. Your top three are familiar.

Reason 1: More expensive to buy than equivalent ICE
Potential Solution to 1: Take the Tesla approach of showing "through life costs" with fuel factored in over the car lifespan (easier with fixed-term PCPs)

Reason 2: Inadequate range
Potential Solution to 2: Not got a solution to this one. One guy genuinely has to do 110 miles a day every day and another has relatives in Durham. The ones who fit in the range profile and raise the "inadequate range" card are generally seeking to justify their ICE. Test drives and a range of battery sizes (ala Tesla + Nissan) are the best approach I feel.

Reason 3: Difficult to find charging point
Potential Solution to 3: A single live map of all charging points in Mobile-Friendly format (hoping for it on the car satnav is a stretch too far as Nissan can't even make a basic website work properly). At the moment we have OpenChargeMap, ZapMap, Plugsurfing, PlugSharing, Zeronet, CYC, ChargeNow and probably some others I've forgotten. Get them all in one app with all the points in place.

Reason 4: Like the noise of their V6/V8/V12/Whatever
Potential Solution to 4: Artificial Noise Generator as already fitted in BMW and VW "sports" models

Reason 5: Badge Snobbery. Won't buy anything without a Mercedes/BMW/VW badge
Potential Solution to 5: All three have EVs so the argument then moves to "too expensive" (e.g. eGolf versus GTD) or "Fugly". Different approaches. 1) BMW made the i3 as a 2-seat coupe it would likely sell - they have the i8 as a halo car so their "i" brand could become the new "M" brand. 2) VW bring the eGolf pricing in line with the way Nissan sells the Leaf (subsidised or whatever) and kicks dealers the same way too 3) Mercedes fits rapid charging to the B Class and abuses dealers in Nissan style

Reason 6: Reliability Fears
Potential Solution to 6: This was two pronged.

Several guys have had "French cars" and take the approach "French + Electrics = Bad". Can't really solve that one as its historical and when one was coaxed into the Renault showroom the Zoe was doing its favourite "Danger Danger" dashboard. Just have to leave Renault to sell to bargain hunters and people who have a reality distortion field around French cars (one colleague told us Citroen were the best car company in the world whenever he could - and forgot that our office overlooks the work car park so we knew how many times he'd had to spend hours fixing windows that had collapsed, mirrors that were jammed or just didn't make it in at all).

The others were more practical types who were fearful over batteries and, less often, worried that EVs were niche and thus parts would be expensive and hard to come by. The first can be solved by manufacturers taking the conservative GM (and, I think, BMW) approach - reserve a huge chunk of capacity so people don't have to go through the "LiIon Knee" where they lose 10% capacity in the first 10-20000 miles of driving before it settles down for the next 100,000. Also offer a battery guarantee which gives a useful range - 70% of a Leaf range is pants.

Parts supply could be solved by offering the option, like Toyota, to keep the car under warranty as long as it is serviced. Having the reassurance of an indefinite warranty will allay fears. Right now a Leaf needs to be planned to throw away in Year 5, a Zoe in Year 4, an Ampera in Year 8 etc.

 

Reason 6 reliability fears. Battery life? Well know one knows the full answer to that and it requires a long answer. However it is known that they last longer than public perception but manufactures need to be open on cost of pack replacement (otherwise the rumour mill will exaggerate) and also show the potential to up grade your present cars pack ie Leaf 24Kw pack to new generation battery 30Kw pack. So now the car is seen as more than just a buy new item.

 

Yes, I think that if Nissan can't offer battery upgrades, buyers may start to wonder whether it is worth waiting, having seen how much mobile phones have improved over a few years. Perhaps it's not whether to buy but when?
When my pcp ends do I send the car back and wait for a much improved version - or keep my current Leaf and recognise how old fashioned the battery is going to seem in a short period of time?

 

Perhaps Nissan could offer a free pack swap up to a 30kWh as a carrot for people to take the PCP cars off their hands. I don't know how much this might cost but the alternative it to loose thousands per car so the cost might be similar and the don't have the hassle of trying to sell loads of ev's which are not that easy to sell in the first place.

 

The 24kWh pack replacement was costed at £5000 and was a subsidised price, so sadly I can't see it happening. A 30kWh upgrade would be more than the value of the car.

They might offer a subsidised upgrade though I suppose.

But they have probably already recognised the loss in their accounts so don't really care about the cars coming back.

 

Charging rates.

Screw how many places there are to charge up, who wants to hang around a dirty service station for a half hour or more, with the only entertainments for troublesome toddlers is filthy tasting coffee.

Stop every 1.5hrs = 110 miles = 35kW, so for a 5 min charge = 420 kW charging, please.

 

Reason 1: Low supply of used EVs (high price, lack of choice)
Solution: Wait...

Reason 2: Lack of choice (don't really want LEAF/Zoe, don't want to pay for i3/Golf)
Solution: Wait....

Reason 3: I have a car already....
Might get several more years of out this car...

 

Range and battery life.

Nissan can't do much about range other than push the new 30 kwh Leaf, but battery life concerns could be stopped in one easy move; increase the battery warranty to 8 years/100k mile life Toyota did on their hybrids. The existing 5 yrs/60k mile warranty is a bit conservative and will just set peoples alarm bells ringing. Even if the extra warranty costs a little extra in payouts, this should be offset by increased sales.

If I recall, Nissan already offer a longer warranty in California where it's hot, so why not here?

 

Doesn't the 30kwh Leaf now have 8 years?

 

Surely the question should be “what stops people buying a BEV?”

 

2 years ago I saw a Twizzy on holiday and it looked cool to me. When I found out it was electric I found out about other evs when I got home. Before this I knew nothing about them and never considered one. Things have changed a little in that time. Most people who know they exist probably think they are short range and expensive cars for greens. Oh and if they have heard of Tesla think decent range evs are really expensive.

 

Over the Garden Gate two days ago:-
Q, 'We were looking at electric, the Outlander looks a possible', Me, ' That's not a real electric car, have you looked at something like my LEAF?, my fuel bill for 14000 miles last year was just over £350 .' Looks interested and Q, 'How far does it go'. Me,'I normally get over 80, with some left'. Q. ' That's not enough for my commute to Farnborough and there's no charge points there. Me,' Could you get your employer to put in a point?' , Q shrugs. Me, ' There is a longer range LEAF coming out soon. The current LEAF would do for " wife" car. QW' The road to the school is often flooded in winter'. Me,'I often drive through that flood water with no problems'
Q and Wife went off to think.
Q drives a Merc mid range diesel, Wife drives a diesel 4x4. which she uses as the school commute and shopping car.

I think that their main reason for not changing yet is 2. Range, and 3, Charge point availability. 4. and 5 I can work on. I don't think 1 applies.

 

Let them get an Outlander. It's a good half way house and they may just to full EV later.

 

That might have been where I saw it, but the main website still doesn't reflect that.

 

Surely the question should be “what stops people buying a BEV?”
R 1
List price is a major factor. That is why dealers like to be able to quote a “from price”. Problem is they also show ice vehicles with “from prices” so you now you have got to get a handle on what you actually want and that takes some understanding before you go further.
The big, big problem is that the manufacturers have yet to decide the way forward with BEVs. They are happy that the government gives them £5,000 for each car they sell without being questioned as the spirit in which they accept the money.
PS.
Legislation. That incentivises the need or desire for a BEV. It is simply lacking, so without a separate market place for BEVs the manufacturers don’t feel a need to compete.

R 2
Range is only an issue if you don’t have enough of it.
Now I know that seems too obvious to need saying but just imagine having 300 kWh capacity, would you ever bother to fill up more than you needed for the time being unless of course it was for free. Think of it like a petrol tank, if it suits you to just stick in £20 you do.
PS
The solution will come in time with higher capacity batteries when it will nolonger be an issue. In which case the manufactures will be forced to focus on Reason 1.

At the moment BEVs don’t challenge the average motorists curiosity enough to bother looking past the vague notions they have of them.
And that is why Tesla is so important to us.

 

I'm interested in finding out what stops people from buying an EV

We already own an EV, so the questions you posted do not apply to us.

This has been an experiment for us. We knew the limitations of the car long before I signed the contract.
I'm not sure if we will be replacing our LEAF with another BEV when the contract is up in Feb 2017.


For most of the last 20 months it has not been practical to drive the car out of Wales. We've done it, but going to Chester, Manchester or Liverpool takes forever. Heading south into mid Wales isn't practical either.

We've never run out of charge and I've only had true range anxiety once after 3 separate 7kW charge points failed.

When electric highway finally reached, we got one trip to Chester in before the rapid chargers failed. Every time we needed to go somewhere, there was at least one red circle on the map. Yes, we took advantage of the loaner cars.


Ecotricity, DBT/CEV and the assorted parters may have finally turned the corner on reliability. I've managed several trips into north west in the past few weeks. I've had to queue to charge on every trip too.


The 30kWh LEAF would be better, but I'd still depend on rapids to get places. Dunno. Ask me again in 14 months.

 

We already own an EV, so the questions you posted do not apply to us.

I recognise that. (B)EV owners have already weighed up the pros and cons and decided that they are prepared to take the risk. What they do next when their PCP is up (assuming that's the method of lease/purchase used) depends on their first experience with a (B)EV, their current financial and travel needs at that time and of course how (B)EV's have developed in the meantime.

As Donald said

Problem is this, my class-oriented colleagues, if you are right on the frizzy edge of a financial existence, as a very large fraction of the population are these days, taking on something which is unknown both in performance delivery and long term costs is too much of a risk.

That's why in my original post I asked if forumites could use social media (or conversations with neighbours etc as some have related here) to collate their opinions and then feed them back here. I thought that using the contacts of existing (B)EV owners/enthusiasts might be the quickest/easiest way to access non-owners/enthusiasts. That way the opinions of both (B)EV owners/enthusiasts AND non-owner/enthusiasts can be obtained.

As a forum for EV owners or those interested in EV's then we may not be the best group of people to answer these questions, so if you're on social media, how about putting this out to friends, family, contacts etc. and then posting their responses?

Hope to get lots of responses.

 

I think if you asked someone on here if they would buy a hydrogen powered car its comparable to asking an ice driver if they would buy a Bev. Lots of the same questions.

 

This is very much a conversation of middle-class professionals with solid incomes and easy access to finance.

Problem is this, my class-oriented colleagues, if you are right on the frizzy edge of a financial existence, as a very large fraction of the population are these days, taking on something which is unknown both in performance delivery and long term costs is too much of a risk. Yes, it might save money, or maybe it'll destroy your finances. If your plodding ancient car has been plodding along and you are finding you can afford it, and neither have the time, money, interest or want to take the risk of changing it, why would you?

Frankly, you would be irresponsible to use family money towards a new car poorly known to the masses with questionable economics and replacing a car you already know you can afford.

In short, the reason in most cases is ..... discomfort with the risks of the unknown......

 

I think it's just the convenience, yeah more and more charging stations are popping up but people are stuck in their ways.

It's just because they're still fairly new compared to petrol and electric, a couple of years down the line it will all change i believe.

Plus people can be in an isolated place and have the convenience of a fuel can in the boot of their car for emergencies, can't say the same of cars run on electrics.

 

Many people still believe that every word uttered by Jeremy Clarkson is gospel. Many others are waiting for the "hydrogen is the future" view to come true.

 

There is another reason. Not wanting one as they don't like the idea of electric cars as it's not a normal car and is therefore confusing.

That's my Mrs!

Despite have been a passenger for several thousand miles and having had a go to see how easy it is to drive, she said even if I gave her the i3 she wouldn't want to drive it because "it's electric"

How do you deal with that!? Tell her to switch the REX on?

 

There is another reason. Not wanting one as they don't like the idea of electric cars as it's not a normal car and is therefore confusing.

That's my Mrs!

Despite have been a passenger for several thousand miles and having had a go to see how easy it is to drive, she said even if I gave her the i3 she wouldn't want to drive it because "it's electric"

How do you deal with that!? Tell her to switch the REX on?

We must be married to the same woman.

 

Is it worth having a standard question to ask? Wouldn't suggest a survey as the answers are too rigid, but a simple question like "Have you thought about buying an electric car, and if you have has anything stopped you from buying one?".

For some it will be just that they are waiting for their current PCP to end.[edit to add... just googled and the average length of UK car ownership is about 4 years] Others (like my dad) want x amount of range to do a specific regular trip without having to charge en route. Others its no off street charging issues. Be interested to see if any new answers come back.