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July 2023 - Automotive

44% of EV drivers do not have a charge point at home: A survey of EV drivers in Europe has revealed that 44% do not have a charge point at home, up from a third last year (33%). It also found that 57% of drivers polled would visit destinations more often if they had charge points available, rising to 74% of UK drivers.

The annual Shell Recharge Survey polled 25,000 EV motorists across the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands to understand more about EV adoption and the barriers to it, as well as EV driver demands.

Florian Glattes, the Vice President of eMobility Solutions said in the report introduction that the latest findings reflect the "record-breaking growth in global EV sales witnessed over the last 12 months."

The research found that there has been a shift in the perception of range, with just half citing it as a top-three barrier, compared to 60% in the 2022 survey. Indeed, almost half the respondents polled said that they do not charge their vehicles daily (47%) compared with 21% in 2022, which suggests that drivers are becoming more confident in their EV’s capabilities. Almost a quater said they charge their EV as soon as they get home (23%) while 13% said they connect their EV at a later time after arriving home.

EV adoption

Looking at improvements that would encourage mass adoption, the 2023 survey found that improved battery range, better public charge point availability and lower initial purchase costs were the top three areas cited, followed by higher charging speeds, reliability of public charging points, more tax benefits for EV owners, more secondary benefits for EV owners and higher taxes on fossil fuel vehicles.

Cards and Apps

Another area the survey shone a spotlight on was the number of applications and cards drivers are having to use to manage their EV. Almost a quarter of owners own four or more cards (23%), although this has fallen from 31% in the 2022 survey. The survey reveals a similar story for app usage, with 23% of motorists reporting using four apps to manage their EV and one in 20 using nine or more. The usage of multiple apps has remained largely the same as 2022 figures.  The research revealed that almost half the respondents polled (47%) are willing to pay slightly more for a single method of access to charge points.

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