[Auto / Moto] The Germans and the French not convinced by electricity

[#Hassan.]

 

According to a study by Continental, German and French motorists are not really interested in electric cars, unlike the Chinese.

It has been a few years now that the car has taken an increasingly important place in the automotive market. A trend which has only accelerated recently, while manufacturers must imperatively green their range, in order to limit the damage concerning the fines provided by the European Union this year. Not to mention the ecological penalty on thermal models, always more severe, even for vehicles considered to be low polluting until now, as well as EPZs , which are increasing in large French cities. In short, the zero-emission car now seems to be the only salvation for the automotive industry, even more weakened since the start of the economic crisis linked to the Coronavirus epidemic. However, if theElectric models are more and more numerous, and while registrations continue to increase, it would seem that not all countries are really enthusiastic about this new type of engine, as confirmed by a study conducted by the Continental equipment manufacturer .

If some countries, including China are particularly fond of electric cars , this is not really the case for the French and the Germans, since they are respectively 57 and 59% not to consider the purchase of such a vehicle in the future. The Americans come just behind, since half of those polled refuse to adopt this engine for their personal use. What is a little more surprising, however, is the position of Japan, since 46% of respondents residing in the land of the rising sun do not intend to go electric either. A rather surprising result in a country that is nevertheless very much geared towards new technologies. However, as Continental points out, the proportion of motorists intending to go zero-emissionhas been on the rise since 2013, for example gaining 28 points in the United States, but only 3 points in France. Clearly, overall we are not yet ready to abandon our thermal engines, while the offer of more virtuous vehicles continues to develop.

Many arguments
To justify their distrust of electricity, respondents have many arguments, which nevertheless differ somewhat between countries. Indeed, in a large part of the world, it is the brand of charging stations that is the main problem, except in France. With us, it is above all the high price of the zero-emission models which constitutes the biggest obstacle to the purchase, and this in spite of the various aids and the ecological bonus , fixed at 6,000 € since the beginning of the year. . One of the arguments against this type of engine, which also comes up quite often, is of course the lack of autonomy., still considered too insufficient to consider daily use. Motorists are also reluctant to have to plan for generally fairly long breaks on their long journeys.

Nevertheless, according to Helmut Matschi, one of the executive directors of Continental, “  intelligent connectivity considerably improves the value of the electric car […] When it comes to range, connectivity is one of the pillars to guarantee a better acceptance by drivers  ”.