Half of Kiwis tempted by electric cars: survey
A staggering 46 per cent of Kiwis would consider buying an electric vehicle (EV) over the next two years, according to a survey commissioned by Mercury Energy.
As an electricity company, Mercury stands to gain from the uptake of EVs. But spokeswoman Shannon Goldstone said the online survey was conducted by an independent pollster and had been ordered for the company’s own internal use. People had not been ‘‘primed’’ to provide favourable responses, she said.
The question people had been asked was whether ‘‘in the next two years or so’’ they would consider getting an electric vehicle, she said.
Of the 300 people polled, 17 per cent said they ‘‘definitely’’ would and another 26 per cent said they ‘‘probably’’ would.
Goldstone agreed that the answers people gave may have been influenced by positive feelings towards EVs, rather than always reflecting their actual buying intentions.
‘‘This is a time when climate change is top of mind for many people, and with the fuel tax coming in.’’
Eighty-four per cent of people polled said they agreed EVs were the ‘‘way of the future’’.
Motor Trade Association industry relationship manager Greig Epps did not believe there was a real prospect of 46 per cent of consumers swapping out petrol cars for EVs over that timeframe.
Instead, the survey probably reflected ‘‘everyone’s good intentions’’, he believed.
‘‘A good EV is still going to take you over the $20,000 mark. It is just normal economics at this point – can people afford the vehicle?’’
Doubts over how long batteries would last – and whether there would be any point spending several thousand dollars to replace them without replacing the whole vehicle – were a common stumbling block for buyers, he said.
Epps didn’t believe many people were starting to fret yet about being ‘‘stranded’’ with secondhand conventional petrol cars that might drop in value.
Mercury’s chief marketing officer, Julia Jack, said the fact ‘‘Kiwis are ready to go electric’’ should encourage government agencies and companies to buy EVs when replacing their fleets, given these would filter down to the secondhand market.