{"id":1872,"date":"2021-04-07T16:06:12","date_gmt":"2021-04-07T14:06:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/verkor.com\/?p=1872"},"modified":"2022-03-18T12:47:05","modified_gmt":"2022-03-18T11:47:05","slug":"user-preference-is-driving-the-shift-to-evs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/verkor.com\/en\/user-preference-is-driving-the-shift-to-evs\/","title":{"rendered":"User preference is driving the shift to EVs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>e\u2011Mobility has won the race\u201d. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>It was with this statement that CEO Herbert Diess opened Volkswagen\u2019s Power Day on 15 March, following close in the tracks of Tesla\u2019s Battery Day. The German group also presented its intention to become a leading player in batteries and energy, with plans to build six gigafactories in Europe. The event will be remembered as a red-letter day for the auto industry\u2019s shift to e\u2011mobility. Let\u2019s get an overview.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/verkor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture_credits_Tesla.png\" alt=\"Int\u00e9rieur\" width=\"1280\" height=\"608\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1380\" srcset=\"https:\/\/verkor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture_credits_Tesla.png 1280w, https:\/\/verkor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture_credits_Tesla-300x143.png 300w, https:\/\/verkor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture_credits_Tesla-1024x486.png 1024w, https:\/\/verkor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture_credits_Tesla-300x143@2x.png 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a9 Tesla<\/em><\/p>\n<h2><strong>The market is supercharged \u2014 and not only in\u00a0Europe<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>We are currently witnessing the auto industry rapidly pivot to electric power. EV sales clearly show an acceleration, with figures in Europe now at the characteristic inflection point \u2014 or tipping point \u2014 of the S\u2011curve.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/verkor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/average-eu-ev-share-in-2019-and-2020.png\" alt=\"Average EU EV share in 2019 and 2020\" width=\"720\" height=\"450\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1385\" srcset=\"https:\/\/verkor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/average-eu-ev-share-in-2019-and-2020.png 720w, https:\/\/verkor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/average-eu-ev-share-in-2019-and-2020-300x188.png 300w, https:\/\/verkor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/average-eu-ev-share-in-2019-and-2020-300x188@2x.png 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I have identified three factors behind this much-anticipated development.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>A \u201cforced-march\u201d offering<sup>1<\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Environmental regulations \u2013 announced and known for some years now \u2014 have at last spurred car manufacturers into action. To hit the average emission target of 95g CO2\/km for new cars, in 2020 a wide range of electric vehicles entered the European market: the VW ID3, Peugeot e-208, Opel Corsa-e, DS3 e\u2011tense, Fiat 500e, joining the Renault Zo\u00e9, BMW i3, Audi e-tron, Hyundai Kona, and the Tesla Model S, Model X and Model 3. Under the European Green Deal for 2025 and for 2030, this target should be lowered, and be even more of an incentive.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>The economic edge is increasingly visible<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Driving an electric vehicle is also starting to make sound financial sense. EVs are becoming more affordable as the cost of batteries steadily decreases. Depending on the case, the type of vehicle and its use, it is only a matter of time before EVs have the economic edge over their combustion\u2011engine counterparts. <span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.leaseplan.com\/en-ix\/blog\/tco\/tco-ev\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A study by<\/a> LeasePlan in 2019<\/span><sup>2<\/sup> suggest that this is already the case in over half of use cases when taking into account the total cost of ownership (TCO). Buyers don\u2019t always base their decisions on such calculations, nevertheless some manufacturers are already offering upfront purchase price parity, i.e., electric models at the same sale price as their fossil-fuel equivalents. An example of this is the Dacia Spring. Many users already see the economic advantage of driving an EV, and as this advantage becomes more apparent it will increasingly be factored into buying decisions.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>A clear preference for electric<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>But what\u2019s really driving EV buzz is demand: users <em>want<\/em> to drive electric cars. Indeed, the driving experience is described as vastly superior to that of the petrol car. When Tesla designed the Model S its goal was to build \u201cthe best car in the world\u201d, and not despite its electric propulsion, but because of it.<\/p>\n<p>For some users it\u2019s the silence, for others the acceleration. There\u2019s a good reason for everyone to enjoy the EV driving experience.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>1001 reasons to fall in love with the EV<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Many have experienced the sensation of an electric car starting to move without a sound, as if flying on a magic carpet! The high-speed torque response from start\u2011up \u2014 not only with the Tesla but with all electric vehicles \u2014 allows the driver to weave neatly through traffic, gently (or generously!) applying available power.<\/p>\n<p>Most users cite silence as the EV&#8217;s main draw card, and also the reason why they can no longer do without it. I often chat to ride-sharing chauffeurs in Paris, and they all cite the EV&#8217;s silence as its biggest advantage, followed by its supreme fuel economy (up to \u20ac500\/month).<\/p>\n<p>Charging the battery \u2014 often a sticking point in the buying decision \u2014 is huge plus for some. Simply plugging in your car at the end of the day gives you a full \u201ctank\u201d in the morning, making the odious task of filling up at the service station a distance memory\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Parents waiting in front of the school gates can keep warm in their car without polluting the entire neighborhood by keeping the engine running.<\/p>\n<p>Thanks to the architecture of cars designed to be fully electric, there\u2019s more room for the driver and passengers. The battery\u2019s placement in the footwell makes the electrical system far more compact than its thermal ancestor with its large diesel engine, tank, and exhaust line running the length of the car. This explains why the interior of the VW ID3\u2019s is almost as spacious as higher\u2011range vehicles (like the VW Passat) \u2014 despite measuring 1cm shorter than a Golf! Tesla drivers can therefore pop open the bonnet and show off their front-boot space.<\/p>\n<p>Another little anecdote on the EV&#8217;s power of attraction: a couple discussing over breakfast who gets to take the electric car \u2014 the so-called &#8220;spare&#8221;!<\/p>\n<p>EV owners also rave about how little maintenance their vehicles require: no more draining the oil, take it in for a service, replacing the fan belt or changing the oil filters. Even the brake pads last longer, thanks to electric regenerative braking.<\/p>\n<p>Several studies show that the vast majority of EV buyers would never go back to a petrol car. And car manufacturers are now inviting interested buyers to take home an electric car to test its daily use over a few days. The results are conclusive.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s getting your excited about switching to electric?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/verkor.com\/\">Verkor<\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><sup>1<\/sup>\u00a0To quote Carlos Tavares.<\/p>\n<p><sup>2<\/sup>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.leaseplan.com\/en-ix\/blog\/tco\/tco-ev\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.leaseplan.com\/en-ix\/blog\/tco\/tco-ev\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>e\u2011Mobility has won the race\u201d. It was with this statement that CEO Herbert Diess opened Volkswagen\u2019s Power Day on 15 March, following close in the tracks of Tesla\u2019s Battery Day. The German group also presented its intention to become a leading player in batteries and energy, with plans to build six gigafactories in Europe. The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/verkor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1872","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/verkor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/verkor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/verkor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/verkor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1872"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/verkor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1872\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/verkor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/verkor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/verkor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}