An increasing number of customers are willing to buy electric vehicles, according to a CarDekho-OMG survey.
The auto-tech firm released the findings of the Electric Vehicle Customer Awareness Study in association with and Omnicom Media Group, on March 22.
The survey was conducted with a broad objective of understanding the current state of consumer awareness, interest and apprehensions related to electric vehicles.
Presently, EVs contribute less than 1 pc of total vehicles sold, but have the potential to scale up to 5 pc within a few years. In 2019-20, about 3.8 lakh electric vehicles were sold in the country of which 58 pc were low-speed E3W and 40 pc e-2W.
According to the survey, 66 per cent of customers are willing to buy electric vehicles, out of which 53 pc said they were strongly inclined to go electric. Among those surveyed, 13 pc are not yet ready for the transformation whereas 19 pc decline to go either way.
Further, 68 per cent of the customers showed their concern towards the environment and believe switching to EVs will help reduce air pollution, whereas 11 pc and 6 pc of respondents considered driving pleasure and lower maintenance cost as the main reason for considering a shift to EVs.
The unique opportunity created by the EV segment also comes with a few challenges. Forty-three per cent of respondents stated that frequent recharging will be a big concern, 20 pc raised concerns on the reliability of EVs during long drives/ inter-city travel, while 16 per cent considered inadequate infrastructure (charging stations) a bigger hurdle. Nearly 12 per cent of those surveyed said that pricing was an important consideration.
The core objective of this survey, said a press release, was to gauge the consumer psyche and understand what sort of information or services from automobile OEMs could help in the buying decision. Respondents suggested manufacturers offer a full list of service stations in any city, accessories for easy and fast home-charging, and an extended service warranty assurance for the car.
The survey was conducted across India among potential 4W vehicle buyers. Almost 40 pc of the respondents own an SUV and 29 pc own a hatchback, followed by 25 pc owning sedans.
