- A new study with over 23,000 respondents from around the world says hardly any EV owners would return to combustion.
- Just 1% of those polled would return to a pure ICE car, while 4% would choose a plug-in hybrid.
- The study also reveals how EVs are perceived differently depending on the country and the specifics of its charging infrastructure.
Electric vehicles are quiet, fast and packed with tech, and these advantages leave a lasting impression on owners. Very few of them, if any, would switch back to a combustion car after going electric, at least according to a new study published by the Global EV Alliance, which we also featured in today's Critical Materials.
It compiled responses from 23,000 EV owners in 18 countries (including the U.S., Brazil, and key European markets) and found that 92% of respondents said they would stick to electric cars for their next car purchase. Of those who would not choose a pure EV again, just 1% would go back to gasoline or diesel, and 4% would pick a plug-in hybrid. A study published this summer said only one in five Americans would choose an EV over a combustion car or a hybrid.
Petter Haugneland, Assistant Secretary General of The Norwegian EV Association, is quoted in the study as saying, “These results confirm that EV drivers are highly satisfied with their choice and that reports of declining EV popularity are greatly exaggerated.” Haugneland is referring to the many reports published this year pointing to falling EV popularity, even though the number of EVs bought in most markets actually went up in 2024.
The survey also polled respondents about why they chose an EV. The top three responses cited EVs’ lower operating costs, more climate-friendly running and lack of operating noise. It also found that 72% of those questioned said they charged at home, only 13% said they used a public fast charging network, and only 7% said they used public parking AC chargers.
When they were asked if, in their view, EVs presented any downsides, the most popular response was that they didn’t, followed by “the coverage of fast chargers is poor,” “charging is time-consuming” and “chargers are often out of function.”
EV drivers in Brazil strongly agreed with the idea that taking a long trip in an EV required more planning than in an ICE car, while respondents from Germany, Switzerland and Sweden didn’t see much of a difference. Regarding range anxiety, EV drivers in India and Brazil felt most affected, while German and Swiss drivers said it wasn’t an issue. Interestingly, Norwegian EV drivers reported above-average range anxiety.
Queuing while waiting to fast-charge is a real problem in areas where the expansion of charging networks couldn’t keep up with rising EV popularity. However, only 3% of respondents said they experienced this often, while 40% and 28% said it was rarely or never a problem for them. A more common problem is chargers occasionally not working, which was reported by 27% of those polled, and 5% said it happened often.
Over 50% also strongly agreed that you should simply be able to tap your card to pay for charging and not have to download a specific app for each charging network. However, that’s a goal that will require a lot more standardization of charging protocols, which will probably have to be imposed by a central authority since the charging providers would currently much rather just have you download their app.
Norway is still the world leader in EV adoption by quite a margin, and it’s the first country where EVs will soon outnumber combustion cars on the road. In November, EVs held a 94% share of the new car market in the wealthy northern European nation (up from 81% last year), and the best-selling cars this year were the Tesla Model Y, followed in second spot by the Model 3.
Plug-ins are also surging in popularity in China, where 1 million hybrids and plug-ins were delivered just in August alone, of which 582,813 were pure BEVs and 444,270 were PHEVs. China is also home to some of the world’s most prolific EV manufacturers, which are now trying to expand their sales success outside the People’s Republic into Europe and the Americas, although newly imposed import tariffs have affected their plans to a degree.
U.S. EV sales are also on an upward trend, as shown by the Q3 sales record, which marked a 5% improvement over Q2. EVs made up 8.9% of all new car sales in the previous quarter, up from 7.8% in Q3 2023, according to data presented by Cox Automotive. Another report says non-plug-in hybrids saw a significant sales boost and helped offset EVs’ slightly lower share of the entire light-duty vehicle market, which went down from 7.4% in Q2 to 7% in Q3, although the number of EVs sold is still higher than in 2023.
EV owners seem to really love their vehicles, even when they are not perfect. While this has been true for Tesla for many years, it now applies to Rivian more. The brand was ranked last for reliability in a recent Consumer Reports survey, but it came first overall in owner satisfaction. Here’s what someone who switched to a Rivian after almost four years of owning a Tesla thinks of the former.
Tesla used to be the satisfaction leader among EV manufacturers, but now it’s been dethroned by Rivian, surpassing established automakers with decades of car-building experience. Non-plug-in hybrids and combustion cars without electrification still provided owners with the highest satisfaction, according to another survey by Consumer Reports. However, EVs are still better than PHEVs in this respect.
The image at the top of this post was generated using Midjourney, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) program.
