Charging Anxiety Is Biggest BEV Challenge

Consumer fear of losing power on the road with a battery-electric vehicle with nowhere to charge may be a bigger worry than automakers think, both in the U.S. and Europe.

More than 90% drivers worldwide report feeling “anxious” about finding somewhere to charge away from home, according to a survey of 5,454 motorists worldwide, including 2,225 BEV owners conducted by Parkopedia.

The worries over public BEV charging infrastructure are well known to regulators and automakers, which is why there are numerous efforts by the companies and government agencies to build out reliable charging stations as quickly as possible, as well as the concession made by several automakers to pay Tesla Motors for access to its fast-charging network.

Parkopedia’s survey, though, may be the most telling measurement of consumer anxiety and reluctance to rely on a BEV for daily driving.

Other key findings of the survey: 44% of BEV drivers have reported that they have run out of charge and 22% found themselves stranded multiple times. Globally, 92% of BEV drivers flagged how they struggled to locate charging points away from home.

Another unexpected annoyance for drivers is that 58% of BEV drivers surveyed have received parking fines while charging their vehicles. BEV owners deem parking information more important than do drivers of gas and diesel vehicles –  likely due to the extended stay times and higher risks of parking fines while charging.

More than half of BEV drivers who have received parking fines while charging believe that more accurate information would have prevented them from being fined, with 39% citing in-car payments – the most requested option as a solution to this problem–thanks to the combined benefits of being able to accurately pay for parking and charge simultaneously.

Seventy-seven-percent of global respondents say they would value having a vehicle that offers integrated parking services, enabling them to navigate directly to parking locations and pay automatically. This includes 86% of global BEV drivers, rising to 91% of U.S. BEV owners.