What will it take to change the minds of hesitating individuals?.

The boom in the production and sales of new types of vehicles, which began two years ago, will no doubt gain further momentum. Yet there is still a silent majority among the population who are hesitating to choose an electric vehicle when buying their next car. What trends and what specific aspects must be actively promoted to electrify Europe’s transport infrastructure?

• As already discussed, only widespread access to charging stations will ease the deep-seated fear of running out of power and being stranded in an electric car. Individual providers will form groups. Moreover, the major German automotive manufacturers are also prepared to make it easier to recharge with jointly operated charging stations and vehicle-specific wall boxes. As usual, the prime example is Tesla, which already provides 20,000 charging stations.
• The ongoing development of the idea of integrating bidirectional charging for electric vehicles, smart homes and self-generated solar power in combination with wall boxes and brand-specific charging stations is creating, in the medium term, a level of proximity between manufacturers and customers never seen before. The increasingly more widespread partnerships between power suppliers and automotive manufacturers are also playing a role in this trend.
• Effortless charging at home is currently only available to homeowners and residents of newer apartment buildings. Public charging stations in parking spaces are still expanding at a very slow pace. Much of this comes down to people being reluctant to leave their car parked and plugged in overnight on city streets. Even groundbreaking ideas like charging via lampposts do little to change this concern.
• However, this issue can be addressed by corporate vehicle fleet policies. More and more companies are switching their vehicle fleets to electric cars in order to benefit from lower maintenance requirements and reduced operating costs. The possibility of charging on company premises also holds appeal for employees. The use of company cars for private purposes is becoming increasingly common, much like the growth of electric car-sharing services in major urban areas. The actual distances commonly covered on a daily basis are far below the range of batteries in almost all electric cars.

In our next post, we will take a look at other essential conditions. These include power generation and, most importantly, batteries. Range, charging speeds and rare earths are the main prerequisites for successful electrification.