Electric Cars are the future of vehicles. All of the major car manufacturers are working on electric vehicles. Scientists have shown how electric cars are much better for the environment than petrol or diesel. With electric vehicles becoming cheaper to buy and run, it should become more common to see electric cars on the road. However, despite the advantages, electric cars are still much rarer than traditional vehicles. A new study has gone some way to explaining why this is.

Unhelpful Attitudes

The study, published in Nature Energy, looked at the attitudes of car dealerships in the five Nordic countries (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland & Iceland). It discovered that one of the greatest barriers to selling Electric Vehicles (EVs) was the dealers themselves. Evidence suggests that car dealers are dismissive of EVs to potential customers. Many car dealers push would-be EV buyers towards traditional petrol and diesel vehicles instead.

Misinformation

The Car Dealerships featured in the study largely gave customers who asked about EVs information that was incorrect. Dealers tended to tell customers that EVs were not as efficient as advertised, or that their range was smaller than suggested. The survey also suggested that 71% of dealers were largely or entirely ignorant of the realities of electric cars. This means that dealers are providing their customers with inaccurate opinions rather than facts.

Exclusion

The previous two issues are dependent on dealers being willing to talk about EVs at all. According to the research, 77% of dealerships who had electric cars available to buy did not even talk about the chance of buying one. This statistic was not changed by what type of person the dealer was talking to, or by the customer’s age or wealth. This meant that in four of the cities in the study (Malmo, Lund, Aarhus & Copenhagen) there was a 0% likelihood of a customer buying an electric car.

Perception

Finally, Electric Vehicles are not being helped by customer perceptions. People believe that electric cars are too expensive, or that they represent poor value. While EVs are often more expensive than petrol or diesel, this is not always the case. Government grants help to lower the price of EVs. The running costs are also much lower than most cars. Charging an empty battery to full costs on average only £3.64. This means that electric cars are a better investment than many people realise.

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