EVs Too Pricey For Most Consumers
Based upon a survey of 1,084 conducted by Boulder, Colo. firm Navigant Research, it would appear most won’t be in the market for EVs anytime soon due to the price of admission being too rich for their blood… for any EV.
According the survey, 71 percent plan to spend less than $25,000 on their next car with 43 percent of the 71 aiming for under $20,000; thus, the only EV or plug-in available within their range (after price cuts and credits) is the 2013 Nissan Leaf at $22,150.
Aside from price, familiarity is another obstacle for EV and plug-in adoption rates. The most familiar to the masses? The Chevrolet Volt, though only 6 percent are intimately familiar with the $26,685 (after credits) plug-in. However, the survey said that 67 percent of consumers loved the idea of hybrids, while 61 percent also loved the idea of EVs.
Finally, 40 percent of the populace sampled would be interested in charging stations in the vein of Tesla’s Supercharger, so long as they paid next to nothing (if at all) for the privilege; only 16 percent surveyed would pay more than $2 for a 15-minute recharge.
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...According the survey, 71 percent plan to spend less than $25,000 on their next car with 43 percent of the 71 aiming for under $20,000... And in a world where ATP is well over $30K now across all makes and models and where one can drop near $30K on a Cruze or Focus - and get well north of $30K on almost any of the compact SUVs in a hurry. The wheels are going to start coming off the economic bus if something doesn't give. We're already seeing troubling signs with continued easing of financing standards, the growth of subprime to near economic crash level (but it's OK this time, because people are paying), and a growing dependency on subsidized/discounted leases.
In order for me to even consider an EV, it has to have a have a price similar to a regular car of its size and the same equipment of an equivalent car. My 300SRT came with adaptive cruise control, side turn signals, front/rear ultrasonic backup sensors, ultraview moonroof, Navigation, heated/cooled cup holders, heated/cooled seats, auto wipers, etc. For me to get any of that in an EV and have a car that fits my 6'6 body, I'd need a Model S and have to pay a minimum of $70,000. There are features my $58,000 car came with that the model S doesn't even offer at $110,000. AND FOR WHAT??? So I could say "I'm saving the planet" while I personally know Earth's geologic history: the bombardment by asteroids, metor showers, magnetic reversal of the poles, rampant extinction level events, etc,etc??? HELL NO. YOU GO AND TELL THOSE LIBERALS AND GREENERS that as long as their is a breath in my body, I'll be riding around in something with an engine that sucks down gas and churns out horsepower. And those bike lanes??? I DRIVE IN THEM. You'll take my HEMI SRT cars from MY COLD DEAD HANDS.
If you can afford a new car, you can afford gasoline.
"However, the survey said that 67 percent of consumers loved the idea of hybrids, while 61 percent also loved the idea of EVs." Reminds me of the Onion article about public opinion of mass transit: "A study released Monday by the American Public Transportation Association reveals that 98 percent of Americans support the use of mass transit by others."