What’s Wrong With Buying An EV?
What’s wrong with buying an EV?
On the surface, nothing. But when you see stories like the one of “dead Teslas” in Chicago during a deep freeze…people start to question it. And they should. We’re consumers first when it comes to buying products, right? A capitalist society that creates things people want AND make money for the business in question.
So who’s at fault for the recent EV struggles?
Is it the EV’s fault? Nope. I’ve been very fortunate to drive a multitude of EV’s over the years, and for the most part they’re wonderful platforms. Quick, quiet and well built (for the most part).
Gotta be the charging stations
Then it’s infrastructure? Yes…and no. It’s painfully obvious we don’t have the infrastructure to support the current amount of EV’s on the road…so to expect it to handle a massive ramp up of vehicles in the next ten years is silly (and borderline criminal). Here’s what I know about charging an EV in America: The high output charging stations are few and far between, they’re never pumping out a charge at a rate advertised, and you never know how much it’ll cost. Imagine order a cheeseburger and they don’t tell you much to pay or how long it’ll take to cook it….you probably wouldn’t go there for long, right?
They’re making us get them
What about being told we HAVE to switch over to EV’s? That’s a deeper dive. But I’m a big believer in the push/pull economy. We actually did a podcast about this last year (see below) – but the basis is simple: Americans don’t like being pushed to switch to anything…ANYTHING. But we do like to make money and switch to things that make our life better. The current batch of EV’s doesn’t make our lives easier (for the most part…unless you drive short distances and don’t mind a long charge time). When EV’s become that for us we’ll pull them into our garages and fleets at an alarming rate.
Don’t want to get stranded
Range anxiety. I work with someone who’s afraid to drive an EV…doesn’t understand about the range and wonders if they can use it to go to the store and run errands without getting stuck. Don’t laugh. Don’t dismiss the power of perception. They’re not alone in how they feel about EV’s…and automakers around the world would be wise to listen to them when they create ad campaigns for EV’s going forward. Show me charge times being changed for the better – networks of chargers around the country so I don’t feel anxiety going to Buffalo. Tell me not only why this EV is different, but what the company is doing to support consumers going forward.
Bottom Line
I’m slowly seeing automakers back off their “all in on EVs” campaigns of the last couple of years. It doesn’t mean EV’s are going away, but it does mean we’re not ready for them yet.
There’s never been a more exciting and challenging time for the auto industry. EV’s are an example of that. I hope the leaders of these companies can find their way to looking at things through the eyes of consumers and focus on growing the EV brand by growing the ENTIRE package (charging stations, infrastructure for at home and expanded range). Until then…can we please get more hybrids?
