Mumbai: The Techarc consumer insights report released on Friday says that 37% of the respondents it surveyed believe that their next vehicle will be an EV, though not very sure about when they will do that. However, 4% of the respondents plan to buy an EV in the next 1-3 years.
While sharing about their broad opinion about EVs, 7% of the respondents find it as a reliable and dependable alternative to bio-fuel vehicles. While 54% of the respondents are educating themselves more about EVs before they could form any opinion about them, 39% feel the concept is at an early stage and needs to mature.
According to the report, among the brands which are commercially available in India, Tata leads in terms of the preference followed by MG and Hyundai. These three brands are seen as key brands in the EV market with regards to owned passenger vehicles. There is also a segment willing to buy EVs from luxury brands including Audi, BMW and Mercedes. However, Tesla, one of the pioneers of modern EVs, does not find too many buyers who could own by importing it.
Faisal Kawoosa, Chief Analyst and Founder Techarc, while releasing the report, said, “India is at an inflection point where EV as personal car is changing its course only to witness an upward growth. Broadly, people are divided into three segments – a very small segment which has already purchased an EV, a sizeable population yet unconvinced with EVs and a very large segment which is educating itself about these vehicles and the allied ecosystem. The EV manufactures as well as the larger ecosystem should create massive awareness to create many more potential users of EV as a personal vehicle.”
Key findings of the report:
4% of the respondents are considering buying an EV in the next 1-3 years as their own personal vehicle.
11% of the respondents find it important to have presence of incumbent players like Maruti-Suzuki in the EV market for them to make a decision about owning an EV.
Consumers are recognising the efforts of the EV industry in building ecosystem and developing the infrastructure that will add to their confidence and reliability. 52% of the respondents see that the sale and service network is getting built while 45% do see the charging infrastructure developing around them.
59% of the respondents also find the options to choose widening for them with more brands introducing their EVs in the market.
Government’s push and promotion of EV is also appreciated by the people. 37% of the respondents see this as a driver for them.
The macro benefits like helping in reduction of pollution as well as dependence on biofuels also features among key motivational factors driving attention towards EVs.
Among the concerns, lack of proven track record of EVs is seen as a top hesitation in adoption of EVs. 87% of the respondents find this as their primary hindrance.
Other concerns include availability of skeleton infrastructure, performance of EVs through all the weather seasons, higher upfront investment, etc., also act as speed breakers in the journey of EVs in India.
