90% Of Electric Car Owners Won’t Return To Gas

A massive 88 percent said they would not return to internal combustion-powered cars.



Almost nine in 10 electric vehicle drivers would never go back to driving a car powered by petrol or diesel, according to new research.

A study by electric vehicle YouTube channel Fully Charged found that 88 percent of plug-in car drivers said they would definitely not switch back to fossil fuels after having owned an electric vehicle (EV).

Seven percent of those quizzed said they were not sure whether they would turn back to internal combustion, while the remaining five percent said they would consider making a return to petrol- or diesel-powered cars.

However, just under a quarter of the channel’s audience (24 percent) said they currently owned an electric car, with the vast majority (54 percent) claiming to own a petrol-powered vehicle. Diesel was the second most popular fuel, accounting for 35 percent of viewers, while a combined total of 11 percent were the owners of petrol hybrids or plug-in hybrids.

That number looks likely to change, however, with 61 percent saying they would switch to an electric car next time they changed vehicles and nine percent saying they would opt for a plug-in hybrid.

Of those that did not already own electric vehicles, a third (33 percent) said the cost was limiting, while 16 percent bemoaned a lack of home charging infrastructure and 11 percent complained of a lack of availability of electric cars.

Just nine percent said they were concerned about the range that could be achieved by modern EVs.

Fully Charged says the survey was the largest ever survey of electric car drivers and clean tech enthusiasts ever conducted, with more than 7,700 people quizzed.

The show’s host, Robert Llewellyn, who made his name on the small screen with Red Dwarf and Scrapheap Challenge, said the results might come as a shock to those who have not tried an electric car.

“I have been banging on about electric cars, solar panels and batteries for the best part of 10 years, so it’s incredibly gratifying to see the excitement that our viewers have for all things clean tech,” he said. “Having experienced how impressive electric cars are, we were not surprised to see so many other drivers saying that they won’t go back to the combustion engine, but it might shock those that have yet to switch. Perhaps, more surprising was that two-thirds of our audience who are yet to buy an EV intend to do so in the next couple of years.”



 

This article originally appeared on Inside EVs.

 

[Eclectic]

I tried to find the actual report from "Fully Charged" and have yet to find it. There's no link in the article and when I go to the Fully Charged website I can't find the story either.

It looks like this study, if it's real, was conducted in Europe. There doesn't seem to be any info on methodology, so I suspect this is a story about the choir preaching to itself.

It may well be the case that many EV owners don't want to go back to ICE, but the claim that 90% say this is pretty suspicious. I say this as an EV owner who recently returned to ICE ownership. I know quite a few others who have as well. So until they present the full report and its methodology, this story is pretty close to being fake news for the proposition that 90% of EV owners won't return to ICE

 

[jboy210]

Cuz the driving experience is more engaging with a manual....and lots more visceral with a big block....some folks like that some folks don't. My EV will still take the brunt of the daily driving miles.

It jerks more and slide around as they lose traction, but that is about it. I say this as a former owner of a 1970 Boss 302, Hemi Cudas, and a series of other performance manual transmission cars. But, they all pail in comparison to the acceleration of a Model X, S or 3, especially the Performance variants.

The S and X performance models are especially brutal. 0-60 in 2.8 or 2.9 secs is really eye-opening. These cars literal try to throw you in the back seat with their acceleration coming off the line, or out a corner, and it wears you out after a few cycles. But it also leaves you with a smile for hours. I imaging it is close as I will every get to getting catapulted in a fighter off a carrier deck.

BTW, what EV are you driving?

 

[Eevee]

Husband and I were just talking about this. We're not crazy about Tesla customer service but he's 100% onboard the EV train. He says when his car is ready to be replaced he's going electric. He says he's never getting another gas car, this one he has now is the end. And our Tesla is basically MY car so he doesn't get it drive it very often, just enough to say goodbye to gas.