During the first decade of the Nissan LEAF, the world’s first mass-market 100% electric car has attracted over 500,000 owners globally. Collectively, these owners have travelled enough zero-emission miles to drive around the earth 400,000 times proving EV drivers are not shy when it comes to travelling the extra distance.
In true testament to the satisfaction of zero-emission mobility, Nissan discovers European EV drivers are going the extra mile. In fact, on average they are annually travelling 630 clean kilometres further than European internal combustion engine (ICE) drivers according to recent research commissioned by the automaker.
To help further understand the driving experiences and perception of European motorists, the study reveals EV drivers are becoming trailblazers on European roads, totalling on average more than 14,200km yearly.
Compared to their ICE driver counterparts, who are averaging 13,600km, this new research foresees a bright future for sustainable mobility.
Ahead of World Environment Day on Saturday 05 June, designed to encourage worldwide awareness and action to protect our environment, these findings present electric mobility and its environmental benefits as a key driver in helping to tackle ecological challenges.
“This research reiterates that electric driving is not only a smart option beneficial to the environment but also a fun, exciting and convenient choice for the owners. It is no surprise that people now drive EV further than ICE cars. We are confident that with more EV on the road dispelling myths, range anxiety will soon be in the past,” said Arnaud Charpentier, Region Vice President, Product Strategy and Pricing, Nissan AMIEO.
Going the distance
Reassuringly, the majority (69%) of EV drivers are happy with the current charging infrastructure available. Likewise, almost a quarter (23%) say the most common myth surrounding EV driving is that the current charging infrastructure cannot cope, indicating high satisfaction in existing EV drivers, and a positive opportunity for future adopters.
Switching-on
Almost half (47%) of ICE drivers say the main advantage of a petrol or diesel car is greater range autonomy. Likewise, when looking into the reasons behind the 30% of ICE drivers who are unlikely to consider a fully electric vehicle, the majority (58%) said the biggest concern is that EVs have low driving range autonomy.
Further exploration into factors that would convince drivers to switch unsurprisingly reveal:
- 38% of ICE drivers believe the biggest pull-factor would be greater range
- 32% of ICE drivers would be drawn by ease of charging.
- 30% note having a better charging infrastructure would persuade them to switch.
However, despite these results, drawing comparison with those who have already converted to an electric car, EV drivers confidently counteract these fears. 70% of existing EV drivers note their experience of range has been better than they expected. These findings serve as a strong indication to ICE drivers that range should not be a deterring factor for switching to an EV.
Distorted reality
The survey also uncovers a strong disconnect surrounding charging and infrastructure from those EV drivers who currently utilise the facilities, and the impression of those ICE drivers yet to benefit from them, highlighting starkly different viewpoints.
- 56% of ICE drivers who are not considering an EV believe there are not enough charging points
- 56% think they are more expensive to buy than their petrol/diesel equivalent
- 48% suggest there is not enough public charging infrastructure.
However, over a quarter of EV motorists say that running out of charge (28%), charging time (30%) and EVs being expensive (31%) are amongst the biggest myths of EV driving, implying that charging and infrastructure are sufficiently developed.
