Canadians still wary of electric, self-driving vehicles

People aren't driving as much during the pandemic, which you would figure might make them more willing to consider electric vehicles — after all, they're not going as far, and have more time to charge them.

But that's not the case, according to a new report released by J.D. Power. It said consumer opinions of future mobility technology, including electric and autonomous vehicles, hasn't changed much since the first quarter of 2020, when the full force of the COVID-19 pandemic was yet to come, though it is up very slightly when it comes to EVS.

Even so, automakers are continuing to invest heavily in electrification and self-driving technologies, “despite an absence of substantive consumer interest in either,” the consumer trends organization says. There are around 50 electric vehicles scheduled to launch in the U.S. by the end of 2022.

Canadians are more open to new technologies than Americans are, although the difference is minor. From the first to the third quarter of 2020, Canadians' interest in battery-electric vehicles increased from 57 points to 58 (on a 100-point scale). For American respondents, interest dropped from 55 to 54 points.

For self-driving vehicles, Canadians remained steady at 36 points, while American interest went from 35 to 34 points.

The report included key findings about electric vehicles. For example, more than two-thirds of respondents have never even been in an electric vehicle. Of those inexperienced consumers, 51 per cent of Canadians and 62 per cent of Americans have “very low to no likelihood” of buying or leasing one.

As well, 22 per cent of Canadians and 31 per cent of Americans admit they know nothing about electric vehicles.

Consumers want electric vehicles to go farther and charge faster. Of Canadians surveyed, 79 per cent want a range of 450 kilometres or more, while 78 per cent of Americans want at least 300 miles (482 km). Almost half in both countries don't want to wait longer than 15 minutes for a vehicle to charge enough to go 300 km.

Key findings about self-driving vehicles included that very few people who drive regularly are interested in them. In Canada, only 13 per cent of drivers feel comfortable riding in a self-driving vehicle, compared to 26 per cent who take public transportation. The U.S. split is similar. Interest in using autonomous public transportation has also dropped.

Consumer trust is the top challenge: 73 per cent of Canadians worry about technology failures, while more than half in both countries are concerned about the vehicle being hacked.

More than a third of industry experts say the prospects for self-driving vehicles have dropped in the past three months. One expert attributed it directly to the pandemic, with automakers shifting to shorter-term emphasis on battery vehicles, delaying development of self-driving systems.