This is a quite logical consequence of the rise in the price of electricity: more and more motorists see it as a deterrent to buying an electric car. This is the main conclusion of a study* commissioned by Leocare, a neo-insurer that claims to cover, in particular, 27% of Tesla cars on the road in France.
What impact on electric car sales?
83% of the French see the increase in the cost of electricity as a brake on switching to electricity. And this question of the price of the “fuel” of electric cars also appears as the third obstacle to the purchase cited spontaneously by those surveyed, at 52%, after the purchase price of the vehicle, at 74%, and autonomy, at 67%. .
However, buying intentions remain quite strong, after a record year in terms of electricity sales in France. 26% of respondents indicate that they intend to buy an electric vehicle soon and only 18% “refuse” to buy one.
“These are answers in line with today’s society: the transition to electricity seems natural, obvious and necessary to us”, comments Christophe Dandois, CEO and co-founder of Leocare.
Another point cited by the study, the cost of maintenance: for 52% it is higher in an electric car than in a thermal vehicle, while the much less complex mechanics really reduce the risk of breakdowns and require much less going to the garage .
“We see that the general public is still not sure that maintaining an electric car is less expensive with this perception of additional cost. It is true that tires wear out faster, but it is the only source of increasing budget, in the rest of us really save money in use”, recalls Christophe Dandois.
A price shield to maintain the advantage against thermals
With the price of recharging in the most powerful public terminals doubling, going from 30 cents to about 60 cents per kWh in France in recent months, Leocare is looking for ways to lower the cost of car insurance, 9.5% more this year:
“For example, we can send prevention messages through our application during recharge: by taking advantage of this waiting time during recharge, we can reduce the accident rate and, therefore, ultimately, the cost of the premium. Or when registering a second driver, remember that the electric car can have quite lightning acceleration and therefore give some advice to avoid an accident that is somewhat stupid but unfortunately increasingly classic”.
Beyond price, it’s really the question of autonomy that continues to be cited by respondents as the top expectation for going electric, as also recently indicated by a Deloitte study.
And if the increase in the price of electricity can deter some people from going electric, the difference in price with fuel is still an important incentive factor. Especially in a context where the tariff shield now also applies to vehicle charging:
“Potential buyers must be reassured and remember that this crisis is temporary: to overcome this milestone, the Government has also just put in place a charge rate shield for 2023. Today as tomorrow, the electric vehicle maintains its economic advantage over the thermal vehicle “, underlines Clément Molizon, CEO of Avere.
*This study was carried out with a sample of 1000 people representative of the French population over 18 years of age (4 categories: 18-34, 35-49, 50-65 and over 66). Data were collected through an anonymous online questionnaire (10 questions) from January 24 to 28, 2023.
Source: BFM TV
