Colin-on-Cars

Racking up the kilometres

 

Statistics are wonderful things and, structure the question correctly, they will tell you exactly what you wanted to know – but here’s one that does produce some interesting and relevant information, notably European electric vehicle (EV) drivers travel further than their combustion counterparts (ICE). 

In fact, on average they are annually travelling 630 clean kilometres further than European internal combustion engine (ICE) drivers according to recent research commissioned by Nissan. 

The study reveals EV drivers are becoming trailblazers on European roads, totalling on average more than 14 200 km yearly compared to their ICE driver counterparts, who are averaging 13 600 km – this research using pre-lockdown numbers.  

“This research reiterates electric driving is not only a smart option beneficial to the environment but also a fun, exciting and convenient choice for the owners. It is no surprise people now drive EV further than ICE cars. We are confident that with more EV on the road dispelling myths, range anxiety will soon be in the past,” says Arnaud Charpentier, Region Vice President, Product Strategy and Pricing, Nissan AMIEO. 

Of the European EV drivers surveyed, Italian electric drivers travel the furthest, averaging more than 15 000 km yearly closely followed by those in the Netherlands (14 800 km), and the majority (69%) of European EV drivers are happy with the current charging infrastructure available. 

Almost half (47%) of European ICE drivers say the main advantage of a petrol or diesel car is greater range autonomy. Likewise, when looking into the reasons behind the 30% of European ICE drivers who are unlikely to consider a fully electric vehicle, the majority (58%) said the biggest concern is EVs have low driving range autonomy.  

Further exploration into factors that would convince drivers to switch unsurprisingly reveal:

• 38% of ICE drivers in Europe believe the biggest pull-factor would be greater range 
• 32% of European ICE drivers would be drawn by ease of charging. 
• 30% note having a better charging infrastructure would persuade them to switch. 

“With EVs on the cusp of wide-spread adoption, we can be confident these positive findings should help change the opinion of the ICE drivers for whom a degree of range anxiety is still preventing them from converting to electric mobility,” continued Arnaud. 

A quarter of European EV motorists say that running out of charge (28%), charging time (30%) and EVs being expensive (31%) are amongst the biggest myths of EV driving, implying that charging and infrastructure are sufficiently developed. 

Still a long way to go for South Africa - Ed 

“This is an exciting time for the automotive industry. As we continue to expand our electric line-up with the all-electric coupé crossover, the Nissan Ariya and the all-new Qashqai with our e-POWER technology, there will be more choice to help inspire drivers to make the switch and continue this positive trend of cleaner travel for our planet,” continued Arnaud Charpentier.