EV makers face tight-fisted early adopter market

Research agency Roy Morgan's AutoMAP survey has found EVs appear not to attract the high-spending early adopters who normally flock to such breakthrough technologies.

Based on the response 'I would seriously consider buying an electric vehicle' those who answered in the affirmative fulfilled a fair proportion of the criteria marking the classic early adopter. Morgan found the majority (64 per cent) live in capital cities, with the same proportion (64 per cent) living in households without children.

They're 27 per cent more likely than the average Australian driver to consider themselves 'a bit of an intellectual' and 18 per cent more likely to 'look for new experiences every day'. They're also 17 per cent more likely 'to go out of their way to learn about new technology'.

They're markedly more likely (56 per cent) to choose ecotourism for their next holiday, to buy organic food (38 per cent) and to feel people should donate money to charities (35 per cent).

In other words, they shape up as well educated and aware of what's going on in the world.

Where they start to differ is on the all important matter of what they're prepared to spend to be first ones on their block behind the wheel of an all-electric car. For many technologies like this, interest rises with disposable income: the richer they are, the keener they are.

Not with EVs. According to the Morgan survey, the richer they get, the less interested they are -- something that sits decidedly at odds with Tesla's marketing message for its superstar-anointed Roadster.

Morgan estimates that 4.2 million Australian drivers would seriously consider buying an EV. But of that sizeable chunk of driving population, 60.7 per cent say they will probably spend less than $25,000 on their next vehicle, with 44.8 per cent saying that figure will be under $20,000.

The suggestion here to car makers could only raise alarm bells: it seems the usual strategy of going to market at sky-high prices then letting them fall in inverse proportion to demand won't work. Nissan appears to be the only maker anywhere near the mark, and even the Leaf's $30,XXX target price substantially exceeds the thresholds set by the majority of prospective buyers most interested in an EV. The only other player on the horizon in this country is Mitsubishi, and it's talking in the $60Ks for its i-MiEV.

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