Why some electric car owners return to gas – the reasons aren’t surprising

[MEDICALJMP]

Why some electric car owners return to gas – the reasons aren’t surprising
Fred Lambert
- Apr. 29th 2021 12:35 pm ET

@FredericLambert

https://electrek.co/2021/04/29/study-why-some-electric-car-owners-gas-reasons-surprising/


A study has looked into why about 18% of electric car owners go back to gas-powered vehicles.

The reasons are mostly exactly what we expected.



University of California Davis researchers surveyed just over 4,000 households who own or owned electric vehicles in California and found that about 20% of plug-in hybrid owners and 18% of all-electric vehicle owners end up going back to gasoline-powered vehicles.

This number will be surprising to some, but the focus of the study was the reasons that led them to switch back to gas, and when you look into those, they are not really surprising.

Researchers Scott Hardman and Gil Tal wrote in the study posted in the Nature Energy journal:

“Here, on the basis of results from five questionnaire surveys, we find that PEV discontinuance in California occurs at a rate of 20% for plug-in hybrid electric vehicle owners and 18% for battery electric vehicle owners. We show that discontinuance is related to dissatisfaction with the convenience of charging, having other vehicles in the household that are less efficient, not having level 2 (240-volt) charging at home, having fewer household vehicles and not being male.”

Therefore, loyalty is higher to battery-electric vehicles than plug-in hybrids, which is not too surprising considering plug-ins have been seen as a compromising technology to help the transition to all-electric.

The main problem appears to be access to level 2 charging at home, which is the most obvious reason and a problem that the industry has been trying to address.

Arguably the biggest consumer advantage to all-electric vehicles for consumers is the potential of always having “a full tank” overnight without having to go to the gas station.

If you can’t charge at home for whatever reason, like not having a parking spot or no parking with access to charging, which is often the case for apartment dwellers, it really hinders the EV ownership experience.

Those EV owners have to rely on public charging stations, which is not as smooth of an experience, but charging networks are trying to add more capacity in urban areas to address the issue.

The most surprising factor that appears to influence going back to gas is that women EV owners go back at a higher rate than men.

But that may also play a role in the kinds of electric vehicles people are buying.

The study found that people buying Tesla vehicles are the least likely EV owners to go back to gas, while Fiat 500e buyers are much more likely to go back to gas.

That’s not surprising when you look at how the former compares to gas-powered cars in its segments in comparison to the 500e in its own segment.

————————————————

TWO THINGS OF NOTE:
1) Tesla owners were least likely to go back to gas
2) That one of the reasons for going back to gas was “not being male.” I would have expected that to be totally opposite.

 

[Deleted member 3884]

It is an interesting article.

 

[firsttruck]

.....
TWO THINGS OF NOTE:
1) Tesla owners were least likely to go back to gas
2) That one of the reasons for going back to gas was “not being male.” I would have expected that to be totally opposite.

I agree that item two “not being male” seems very strange.

In the past women favored electric cars more than men did.
Clara Ford, wife of Henry Ford, kept her electric car (Detroit Electric) and she very rarely or maybe never drove Ford cars.
https://cleantechnica.com/2014/04/11/henry-fords-wife-wouldnt-drive-model-t-kept-electric-car/

Of the women I have known they all hated
1. new car dealer buyer sales process (price haggling & multi-person shuffle sales do)
2. repair services
3. taking vehicle for oil changes & tune-up
4. visiting gas stations (even if attendant did the work)

I can think of a couple reasons the survey maybe skewed regarding women preferences

1. The survey may not have included answers from enough women.

2. More women might have had the EV/hybrid bought FOR them (ie. gift) and the exact model did not really fit their use case (no L2 charger at home, not enough range, style).

 

[FutureBoy]

I agree that item two “not being male” seems very strange.

In the past women favored electric cars more than men did.
Clara Ford, wife of Henry Ford, kept her electric car (Detroit Electric) and she very rarely or maybe never drove Ford cars.
https://cleantechnica.com/2014/04/11/henry-fords-wife-wouldnt-drive-model-t-kept-electric-car/

Of the women I have know they all hated
1. new car dealer buyer sales process (price haggling & multi-person shuffle sales do)
2. repair services
3. taking vehicle for oil changes & tune-up
4. visiting gas stations (even if attendant did the work)

I can think of a couple reasons the survey maybe skewed regarding women preferences

1. The survey may not have included answers from enough women.

2. More women might have had the EV/hybrid bought FOR them (ie. gift) and the exact model did not really fit their use case (no L2 charger at home, not enough range, style).

I’m thinking another reason for the not being male stats might be a difference in ratio M:F in those who bought Tesla vs those who bought the other EVs. The charging experience at Tesla chargers is reportedly much better than at other generic chargers. Plus, non-Tesla EVs tend to have poorer range, less features per $, and still tend to be supported/sold by dealerships that hate selling EVs.

If my only EV experience was with non-Tesla vehicles then the big EV wins would not be looking very real or useful. In fact for my next vehicle, if I cannot buy a Tesla then going back to ICE would actually be easier and more convenient.

 

[firsttruck]

I’m thinking another reason for the not being male stats might be a difference in ratio M:F in those who bought Tesla vs those who bought the other EVs. The charging experience at Tesla chargers is reportedly much better than at other generic chargers. Plus, non-Tesla EVs tend to have poorer range, less features per $, and still tend to be supported/sold by dealerships that hate selling EVs.

If my only EV experience was with non-Tesla vehicles then the big EV wins would not be looking very real or useful. In fact for my next vehicle, if I cannot buy a Tesla then going back to ICE would actually be easier and more convenient.

Good point and part of it could be initial purchase price differences.

Long term TCO of Tesla is good but you have to have money for the higher initial purchase price. I read that there were times Chevy had huge discounts on Chevy Bolts to get rid of the few on the lots. Chevy Bolt and most other non-Tesla EVs ( ie Nissan Leaf) besides poor charger networks usually do not have DC fast charge feature.

Women receiving lower incomes in general than men also make women more limited to lower prices.

 

[firsttruck]

Of the women I have known they all hated
1. new car dealer buyer sales process (price haggling & multi-person shuffle sales do)
2. repair services
3. taking vehicle for oil changes & tune-up
4. visiting gas stations (even if attendant did the work)

So women probably would appreciate the features of best EV (Tesla) more than alot lot of men but women have lower ability to buy the Tesla.

 

[Crissa]

Women tend to have less money, when leading a house-hold, and therefore the current 'up front' is a higher bar for them to meet.

We are, as a group, also more risk-averse. That means slow charging, cost, new technology, range - even styling. (There are many reasons, mostly social, for this: women tend to carry higher costs for misadventure than men do.). Sitting at an isolated charger? That's just going to be a no-go.

Also, this survey still includes a large number of compliance cars. Given the high cost of entry, and that most of the technology wasn't mature enough to do the current use-cases easily, that means most buyers (and keepers) of EVs would be men.

-Crissa

 

[Monkchoi]

Just wondering if Tesla vehicle are equipped to be charged at other charging stations? The closest supercharging station is at Grapevine, TX. In regards to pricing, does anyone know if there's a post discussing varies charging rates? Would be nice to have a gas buddy type app for electric vehicle.

 

[Crissa]

Just wondering if Tesla vehicle are equipped to be charged at other charging stations?

Most people charge at home most of the time. Just like anything else.

A Tesla can charge from J1772 (the most common fast-charging point in the US, they come with an adapter.) as well as Tesla Destination and Superchargers. You can also buy adapters. There's an official CHAdeMO one and an unofficial CCS one.

In Europe, the EU versions use the EU CCS standard. They can have a Mennekes adapter for fast charging, which is the equivalent to the J1772.

-Crissa

 

[firsttruck]

Just wondering if Tesla vehicle are equipped to be charged at other charging stations? The closest supercharging station is at Grapevine, TX.

There are many non-Tesla chargers in the Dallas/Fort-Worth,TX metro area.

What power/speed level charger do you need L1, L2 or DC-Fast?

 

[Monkchoi]

There are many non-Tesla chargers in the Dallas/Fort-Worth,TX metro area.

What power/speed level charger do you need L1, L2 or DC-Fast?

I would be charging at a L1 level. I commute 250 miles a week. I would like to use a couple of Saturday a month to run Hot Shots (150 miles per job) with my cybertruck. That's why I feel like I won't have enough juice to last the entire week. Trying to figure if it's better to get a fast charger at home or L1 charger and use a Tesla and Non-Tesla charger if I need to top off based on my usage.

- Monkchoi

 

[AlexD]

Why some electric car owners return to gas – the reasons aren’t surprising
Fred Lambert
- Apr. 29th 2021 12:35 pm ET

@FredericLambert

https://electrek.co/2021/04/29/study-why-some-electric-car-owners-gas-reasons-surprising/


A study has looked into why about 18% of electric car owners go back to gas-powered vehicles.

The reasons are mostly exactly what we expected.



University of California Davis researchers surveyed just over 4,000 households who own or owned electric vehicles in California and found that about 20% of plug-in hybrid owners and 18% of all-electric vehicle owners end up going back to gasoline-powered vehicles.

This number will be surprising to some, but the focus of the study was the reasons that led them to switch back to gas, and when you look into those, they are not really surprising.

Researchers Scott Hardman and Gil Tal wrote in the study posted in the Nature Energy journal:


Therefore, loyalty is higher to battery-electric vehicles than plug-in hybrids, which is not too surprising considering plug-ins have been seen as a compromising technology to help the transition to all-electric.

The main problem appears to be access to level 2 charging at home, which is the most obvious reason and a problem that the industry has been trying to address.

Arguably the biggest consumer advantage to all-electric vehicles for consumers is the potential of always having “a full tank” overnight without having to go to the gas station.

If you can’t charge at home for whatever reason, like not having a parking spot or no parking with access to charging, which is often the case for apartment dwellers, it really hinders the EV ownership experience.

Those EV owners have to rely on public charging stations, which is not as smooth of an experience, but charging networks are trying to add more capacity in urban areas to address the issue.

The most surprising factor that appears to influence going back to gas is that women EV owners go back at a higher rate than men.

But that may also play a role in the kinds of electric vehicles people are buying.

The study found that people buying Tesla vehicles are the least likely EV owners to go back to gas, while Fiat 500e buyers are much more likely to go back to gas.

That’s not surprising when you look at how the former compares to gas-powered cars in its segments in comparison to the 500e in its own segment.

————————————————

TWO THINGS OF NOTE:
1) Tesla owners were least likely to go back to gas
2) That one of the reasons for going back to gas was “not being male.” I would have expected that to be totally opposite.

Interesting that the inability or inefficiency of EVs as tow vehicles does not feature as a reason for going back to ICE.

 

[AlexD]

I am surprised that the EVs poor towing performance is not listed as a reason for returning to ICE.
I must agree that if I didn't have at home 240V charging I would not want to own an EV.

 

[CostcoSamples]

So people trade in their Fiat 500e for a gas vehicle. What a shocker!

 

[firsttruck]

I would be charging at a L1 level. I commute 250 miles a week. I would like to use a couple of Saturday a month to run Hot Shots (150 miles per job) with my cybertruck. That's why I feel like I won't have enough juice to last the entire week. Trying to figure if it's better to get a fast charger at home or L1 charger and use a Tesla and Non-Tesla charger if I need to top off based on my usage.

L2 (220V/240V) charger at home would probably be a very good investment.

As Crissa mentioned, there are a lot of J1772 chargers and most should be fairly easily used by Tesla vehicles

In Dallas/Fort-Worth,TX metro area there are many public chargers
1. more J1772 DC-Fast chargers locations than Tesla DC Fast chargers ( Superchargers).
2. more J1772 L2 chargers locations than Tesla L2 chargers.

At the Charge Hub link below you can see charger locations
You can select charge speed ( level filter ) and also connector type (connector filter)
Charge Hub
https://chargehub.com/en/charging-stations-map.html

Plug Share
https://www.plugshare.com/

Better Routeplanner
https://abetterrouteplanner.com

Charge Point
https://www.chargepoint.com/resources/finding-charging-stations-chargepoint-app/