Most EV Owners Would Replace Their Car With Another EV

A large survey of existing EV owners found that the vast majority would buy another fully electric vehicle next time.

The survey by Global EV Alliance represented 23,000 members from 18 countries. It found that over 90 per cent said they intend to replace their existing EV with another. Just one per cent said their subsequent ride would be petrol or diesel powered. 

Ninety-two per cent said they would stick with a pure EV while four per cent said their next vehicle would possibly be a plug-in hybrid. Those used to driving electric see PHEVs as EVs most of the time but as a means of avoiding public chargers when out of town trips are necessary. Thus, the petrol engine is seen as a back-up secondary power source.

The survey took place between Aug and Nov this year. The results were weighted based on each country’s share of the total EV fleet. So in the US, results were weighted up whereas in Sweden they were weighted down. This reflects a much greater relative size of the EV fleet in Europe versus the US. 

The main reason for sticking with an EV was lower operating costs (45 per cent), followed by lower climate impact (40 per cent). The third reason was that EVs are good for the neighbourhood and make less noise (32 per cent). 

Those results contrast with those from a 2023 study undertaken by S&P Global Mobility. They found that, Tesla aside, nearly half of EV-owning households still purchased an ICE-powered vehicle the next time around. However, that was due mainly to a lack of EV options from non-Tesla brands back then. 

Moreover, the Department of Energy has noted that EVs in America are driven less than internal-combustion vehicles. Therefore, they might not always be serving as like-for-like replacements.