The vast majority of South Africans have expressed an interest in one day owning an electric car, but there are several factors that need to be addressed before this will become a reality.
According to AutoTrader’s 2023 South Africa Electric Vehicle Buyers Survey, charging times, a lack of public charging infrastructure, load-shedding, and a higher upfront purchase cost remain the biggest hurdles to electric vehicle (EV) adoption in the country.
What needs to be addressed
While steep purchasing costs remain one of the largest barriers to entry for EVs, it is something that has slowly been improving.
“The perceived disadvantage regarding the initial cost to purchase has decreased by 3.4% from 65.2% in 2022 to 62% in 2023,” said AutoTrader CEO George Mienie.
“This decrease can be attributed to the introduction of more affordable new EVs in the market this year, as well as a growing used EV car parc, one that offers a cheaper entry point to ownership.”
The other issues stopping EV adoption have more to do with everyday practicality, as most users said they would only purchase one with a range of at least 300km.
More than 34% of those surveyed (the single largest group) said that they needed a car that could do 500-700km on a single charge, and another 19.7% said their EV would need a range of more than 700km.
Respondents were further asked for their opinions on charging times, where over 77% said that it should take fewer than four hours for an EV to charge fully at home, bearing in mind that domestic EV chargers are primarily intended to charge cars overnight in preparation for the next day.
A not-insignificant 16.4% of users said it should take less than an hour, while only 3.5% said it was fine if it took more than 12 hours.
Things were more one-sided when it came to the matter of fast chargers in public spaces, as more than 80% of users said that it should take less than an hour to get a fully-loaded battery when using a public plug.
Nearly half of those questioned expected a top-up time of 30 minutes or less, while the second-largest group could allow for another half hour of charging.
Most users also said that they expected to pay in the ballpark of R200 to R500 for a public recharge.
The interest is there
While it will take time for electric transport to become both affordable and practical enough to accommodate the needs of the average consumer, people are nonetheless showing a rapidly growing interest in the technology.
AutoTrader found that BMW is considered the most trusted EV with 52.2% of respondents expressing interest, in comparison to 43.3% for Mercedes Benz, and 37% for Toyota.
The survey also discovered that men are more willing to spend in excess of R500,000 on an EV, while women are more concerned with aspects like resale value, performance, safety, and driving range.
Another positive trend is the increase in the supply of used EVs, as 48.5% of users said they were willing to choose a used model, with a reduced price being the main reason.
Just like with traditional motors, the survey showed that most people want to pick up a pre-owned electric with less than 60,000km, though ideally it should be between 20,000-40,000km.
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