A new report from the Strategy Analytics In-Vehicle UX (IVX) service, “Consumer Interest in EVs: Lingering Concerns Meet a COVID Bump,” surveyed car owners across the US, UK, and China regarding their interest in and concerns with BEV ownership. While interest in BEV and hybrid ownership is relatively strong in China, it was lowest in the US. To meet the goal of transitioning fleets and car buyers to all electric, governments and automakers have a substantial challenge ahead, the market research company said.

Despite a focus from governments and automakers on enviro-conscientiousness and the surge of consumer interest in Battery-Powered Electric Vehicles (BEV) seen by Strategy Analytics since 2019, concerns among the skeptics remain largely the same. The risk of being stranded somewhere without the ability to charge remains high, concerns around charging infrastructure outweigh simple battery range concerns, and the fear of BEV ownership costing more than gasoline car ownership is evermore present. Consumers will not pay more for a vehicle that looks and feels like a less expensive one, simply because it is a BEV. The overall experience needs to match the price point.

Range anxiety, and the perception that BEVs could limit the distances one could travel, have been longstanding blockers in advancement of BEV interest. But improving range at the vehicle level is just one piece of a complex puzzle that must be solved to unlock broader consumer interest in BEVs.

While there are instances of forthcoming investment to boost the BEV market – for example the new government administration in the US has made strong noises about investing in BEVs and BEV infrastructure – given relatively weak consumer attitudes toward BEVs and low concern for the environmental impact for their current vehicle, the US government, and automakers selling in the US, have a long arduous effort ahead of them.

—Chris Schreiner, Director, IVX

Financial incentives and a perceived maturation of BEV offerings contribute to robust interest worldwide. But BEVs still have an inherently limiting UX, so car owners in the West still require more on-boarding for wider acceptance.

—Kevin Nolan, VP, UX Innovation Practice

UX is User Experience—defined by ISO as “Person’s perceptions and responses resulting from the use and/or anticipated use of a product, system or service.”