The road to electrification has been repeatedly foretold by automotive industry watchers. Yet, significant questions remain about how the transformation will take place, how long it will take and what will accelerate—or just as importantly, put the brakes on—consumer adoption. CDK Global Inc., a leading automotive retail software provider and a Brookfield portfolio company, released results of a survey that found significant challenges and opportunities the industry must address to get to an all-electric future.
With electric vehicle (EV) sales on the rise, gas-powered vehicles still make up most sales, and at less than 5% of the market, sales of EVs would have to double every two years to get to a full-electric fleet by 2032. To better understand the barriers to adoption and how to help accelerate the shift to EVs, CDK surveyed more than 1,100 consumers who recently purchased a vehicle or intend to purchase a vehicle in the next two years.
CDK’s study found that while EV owners are extremely satisfied with a net promoter score (NPS) of 69, they still have concerns about the amount of time it took to charge their vehicle (69%), the availability of charging networks (60%) and vehicle range (56%).
For non-EV shoppers, nearly half (46%) reported they do not plan to buy an EV at any point in the future, which reveals a need for dealers to better educate shoppers on EV options, while continuing to sell and service gas-powered vehicles through the next decade and beyond.
The survey also revealed several insights for dealers looking to stay ahead of the curve with their customers, such as:
- 26% of shoppers who bought or planned to buy a gas-powered vehicle considered an EV—with 88% pointing to the dealer’s sales representative as introducing the option.
- EV buyers listed advanced technology as the top purchase motivator (25%), with a desire to reduce impact on the environment coming in second (23%).
- 40% of EV shoppers postponed buying an EV until they had their own garage due to concerns around easy and convenient access to charging facilities.
- Four out of five EV owners (81%) plan to get their vehicles serviced at the dealer. Additionally, while oil changes are the primary worry for owners of gas-powered vehicles, EV owners report the need for heath checks on batteries (61%), tire changes (44%) and high-voltage cable inspection (40%).
“While the headlines shout about the inevitability of an all-EV future, there is still a lot of work we must to do to pave the way, while continuing to take care of consumer needs in the meantime,” said Barb Edson, chief marketing officer, CDK Global. “We believe the dealer is—and will continue to be—at the heart of automotive retail. By helping them better understand the realities of the market, they can plan more impactful sales, service programs and investments in their dealerships to meet consumer needs through this transition.”
For more information on the survey, including additional insights, download “The Charged Truth About Electric Vehicles” whitepaper.
