New research conducted by the American Automobile Association (AAA) indicates the majority of electric vehicle owners are happy with their purchase and would buy or lease another electric vehicle the next time they were in the market for a new car.
AAA partnered with a vehicle research firm to survey more than 1,090 EV owners in October of last year, asking them questions with regard to their vehicle ownership experience. A whopping 96% said they would replace their current EV with another electric vehicle when they needed to. Additionally, 71% of those surveyed were first-time EV owners, so it seems as though many early EV adopters are converting to electric and turning away from internal combustion engine vehicles.
These owners also found that many of their concerns with regard to EV ownership were alleviated after they leased or purchased one. Previous AAA research found that Americans usually shy away from electric vehicles as they worry there are not enough places to charge and the fear that they will run out of charge while driving. But 95% of those who participated in the survey report having never run out of battery while driving and 75% do all of their charging at home. AAA also says that 77% of those who were originally concerned about an EV having insufficient range said they became less or no longer concerned post-purchase.
“Range anxiety has been synonymous with electric vehicles from the beginning,” said Greg Brannon, AAA’s director of Automotive Engineering and Industry Relations. “Hearing firsthand from owners that this is no longer a worry may change the mind of those who have otherwise been skeptical to the idea of owning an electric vehicle.”
AAA also found that over five years and 75,000 miles of driving, the annual cost of owning a new compact electric vehicle “is only slightly more expensive – about $600 annually – than its gas-powered counterpart.” This is factoring in the purchase price, upkeep and charging/fuel. The organization says it came to this conclusion using “the proprietary methodology employed for AAA’s Your Driving Costs (YDC) project,” which is essentially just a driving costs calculator. It compared the cost of ownership over five years of four electric models (Chevrolet Bolt EV LT, Hyundai Ionic Electric base, Kia Soul EV+, Nissan Leaf SV and Volkswagen eGolf SE) with four comparable economy cars (Chevrolet Cruze LS, Honda Civic LX, Hyundai Elantra SE, Nissan Sentra SV and Toyota Corolla SE).
You can read the AAA EV study in its entirety at this link.
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Comments
I’ve owned/leased three Electric cars since 2014 all Volts.
I love my current 2019 Volt LT, I’m glad I went for it before it disappeared off the dealership lot.
I’m sad to see the Volt and it’s Voltec drivetrain go bye bye. It had/has a lot of potential still in it and I feel it could have been used much more effectively to introduce more to Electrics.
I’m happy with GM’s push to build/introduce more Electric cars in the future, just feel they could do more.
GM could also do much better with advertising.
I beelieve it. I’ve had an eerily similar experience.
I’m getting tired of people here taking others names for jokes.
I know several people who drive electric or hybrid cars – they like them a lot..
Still, I am an “old school” guy who cannot get beyond the issue of the limited range.. It is still virtually impossible to take a trip in an electric vehicle. You cannot drive 300 hundred miles – stop for 20 minutes while you re fuel, eat a snack , and “potty break”.. then get back in your car and drive another 300 plus miles!!! Hybrid cars make a lot more sense to me until the technology catches up…. I will keep my naturally aspirated gasoline engine for now.. Thank you ….