Electric car owners drive further than anyone else

Electric vehicle owners in Europe travel 600km more than drivers of traditional combustion-engined cars over a year on average, according to a OnePoll survey of 7000 motorists.

Price and range anxiety continue to rate as key factors against buying an EV, but the latest survey commissioned by Nissan shows that owners are not only happy with the range offered by their electric car, but are actually travelling further than ever before.

The results, based on respondents from the UK, Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Norway, Sweden and Denmark, reveal that EV owners travelled an average of 14,200km annually, 600km more than for internal combustion engine (ICE) cars.

Seventy per cent of EV owners surveyed also said range was better than expected.

How far can I drive an EV?

“It is no surprise that people now drive EV further than ICE cars,” said Arnaud Charpentier, product strategy and pricing boss for Nissan’s AMIEO region, which includes Australia.

“We are confident that with more EV on the road dispelling myths, range anxiety will soon be in the past.”

More than two thirds of the EV drivers in the survey said they were happy with the current charging infrastructure.

However, it’s a different story in Australia where EV charging infrastructure is still in its infancy – although this is set to change with governments pledging to invest heavily in recharging stations over the next decade.

The European EV study was commissioned ahead of World Environment Day (June 5), and Nissan claims the research findings “dispel popular myths surrounding EV ownership and indicate an end to range anxiety”.

The second-generation Nissan LEAF is priced from $49,990 plus on-road costs in Australia, or $60,490 plus ORCs for the just-released 2021 Nissan LEAF e+.

The average price of EVs in Australia is relatively high, with the most affordable electric car currently the MG ZS EV ($43,990 drive-away), while the most popular EV is currently the Tesla Model 3 ($62,900 plus ORCs).

However, Chinese car-maker BYD is set to offer direct-to-customer EVs priced from under $35,000 in Australia from around September 2021, which could be game-changers and increase the uptake of EVs here significantly.

Some Australian states and territories are beginning to offer incentives to increase the adoption of new EVs, while Victoria will also slug EV owners with a controversial new road-usage tax.

The driving range of EVs available today in Australia today varies between around 200km and 500km between recharging, but BMW’s incoming new EVs, including the BMW i4, will surpass 600km.