Sustainability: helping customers in their BEV buying
The supply of used battery electric vehicles (BEVs) continues to rise as new sales increase and prices become more affordable. While the purchase price of BEVs remains an issue for some car buyers, the reality is that price parity with petrol/diesel equivalents continues to emerge. It is a situation that is only likely to gain further momentum as new petrol and especially diesel sales fall.
Many people are interested in switching to a BEV, which is a positive step; if that step can be more affordable than staying with a petrol/diesel car, then many more people will surely make the move. It may well be that cost moves from a barrier to buying a used BEV, to the primary reason. For dealers, spotting this coming tipping point will be important.
However, price is not the only barrier to buying a BEV for some people. In this post, we look at how dealers can address the other critical potential obstacles customers may have when purchasing a BEV.
Range anxiety
Range and charging are significant issues for many customers, and much of this centres on perception rather than reality.
The average commuting distance in the UK is a little under 20 miles, and just 14% of commuters travel over 42 miles a day. Not only will pretty much any BEV meet the needs of the 99% of people whose car journeys are under 100 miles, but anyone with a home charger will also find the cost of their travel reduced compared to a comparable ICE (internal combustion engine) car, and they will not need to spend time locating or using a petrol station.
The cost of electricity
It currently costs around £20.29 to drive 150 miles at 50MPG in a petrol-powered Ford Fiesta, and it costs £8.94 to drive the same distance in a Nissan Leaf that has been charged up at home at 22.39p per unit; this current and compelling picture was painted on June 18th this year by clean energy specialists Good Energy.
Battery deterioration
US telematics provider Geotab analysed data from over 6,300 fleet and private BEVs of different makes and models and found that the typical BEV battery degrades by 2.3% annually.
Translated into real-world terms, an EV with a working range of 240km (150 miles) would lose just 27km (17 miles) of range over five years.
The final doubts about the viability of BEVs for most motorists sometimes lie with dealers. The only observation we can add is that in a few short years, as the new car market becomes dominated by BEVS, the used market will follow, and appreciating reality vs perception may help generate more sales.
