High price and range anxiety stops Germans from buying e-cars

When it comes to personal transport Germans aren’t exactly rushing to play along with the infantile mythology of climate neutrality, contrary to the wishes of their supposedly ‘green’ leaders. Sales targets look increasingly like wishful thinking.
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Germany wants to have 10 million electric cars on the road by 2030 in a bid to meet its climate targets, says DW.com.

But it’s not just the cost and limited range that’s deterring drivers to go along with this ambitious plan.

Germany’s long-established car industry is embarking on a historic transformation to try to shrink its carbon footprint.

As part of its plan to reach climate neutrality by 2045, the government wants to phase out combustion engine vehicles — a major emitter of greenhouse gases — and replace them with lower-emission alternatives, like electric cars.

Its goal is to have 7 to 10 million electric battery-powered cars on the road by 2030. That’s going to require a twentyfold increase in the number of e-cars around today.

Electric vehicles make up just 1.2% of the 48.2 million passenger cars registered in Germany. According to the Federal Motor Transport Authority, about two-thirds run on petrol, and around 30% on diesel.

Berlin-based environmental think tank Agora Verkehrswende said Germany would need to be even more ambitious, with 14 million electric cars on the road by 2030, in order to achieve its climate neutrality goal.

“This is a huge increase and it also needs a huge increase in charging stations,” Kerstin Meyer, head of the think tank’s transportation team, told DW.

What are the main obstacles for car drivers?

The lack of charging infrastructure is just one reason Germans are reluctant to ditch their diesel or petrol car for an electric one.

A YouGov survey conducted among of 2,036 people from February found that 50% named range as the main deterrent, followed by inadequate charging stations (38%) and questionable environmental benefit (35%). Over 54% of respondents were put off by the high price of e-cars.

Even if the issues with price, range and charging infrastructure were addressed, one-third of respondents still said they would not buy an electric car.

In a separate survey of 10,000 drivers, also published in February and commissioned by Germany’s VKU local utilities association, 39% said they would not buy an electric car as their next vehicle under any circumstances.

The most important prerequisites for making such a purchase? Improved range (38%), lower prices (36%) and more public charging stations (31.5%).

Full article here.