Many EV Owners Globally Are Considering Switching Back To Fuel-Powered Vehicles, Survey Says
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The switch to electric vehicles (EV) has hit a snag according to a survey by McKinsey & Co. Survey results showed that 46% of American EV owners are considering returning to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles for their next purchase.
The “backtrack” from EV owners is largely due to the slow growth of EV infrastructure such as charging facilities and the high costs of charging for long-distance journeys.
In the US, the Department of Energy’s National Electric Vehicle infrastructure program has been slow to expand, leaving many regions underserved. For now, only 9% of study participants were satisfied with the current public charging network.
The survey gathered responses from over 30,000 consumers across 15 countries, representing more than 80% of the global sales volume.
Image: McKinsey & Co.
The results also showed that 29% of EV owners worldwide are likely to return to gasoline vehicles. 21% of global respondents stated they have no interest in switching to an all-electric vehicle with 33% of them citing charging infrastructures as a critical issue.
The change in consumer preferences has been reflected by the way EV producers such as General Motors, Ford Motor, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and Land Rover scaling back or delaying their electric vehicle productions.
However, this does not mean consumers do not want electric vehicles at all. The same study showed that 38% of non-EV owners worldwide would consider purchasing a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) or an EV for their next vehicle, an increase of 1% from two years ago.
This showed that consumers are adopting a more careful approach towards greener technologies. It’s a slow shift but a positive one nonetheless.
Image: McKinsey & Co.
What about EV growth in Malaysia?
According to TNGlobal, analysts predicted the growth potential of EVs in Malaysia since there have been launches of new models and regulatory incentives.
However, they believe the RM10,000 pricing floor imposed on fully built unit EVs remains an obstacle to EV adoption.
Adoption rates are expected to rise once the market starts to receive locally assembled EVs, especially with the anticipated launch of the first nationally produced EVs by local manufacturers such as Perodua and Proton in 2025.
Similar to the US, one of the biggest hurdles in adopting EVs is the lack of public charging infrastructure. As of March 2024, there are 2,288 EV charging stations nationwide.
The government aims to have 10,000 EV charge points and 1,500 DC charge points by 2025.
Another hurdle potential EV owners expect to face is the potentially pricier road tax once the road tax exemption for EVs ends on 31 December 2025.
According to Malay Mail, Malaysia has an ambitious goal for EVs to take up 15% of the total industry volume (TIV) by 2030, 40% by 2040, and 80% by 2050.
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