Difficult to charge hinders UK electric car promotion

A recent survey report released by British electric vehicle infrastructure company Connected Kerb shows that whether electric vehicles can be charged at a fixed location has become a major consideration for current British electric vehicle users and potential buyers.

According to the company's survey data, among the existing electric vehicle users in the UK, 64% of the owners said they would complete the charging at night, and these users installed a private charging station at home; 16% of the owners said they would use non-stationary public The charging station completes the charging; another 5% of the owners choose to complete the charging at a charging place near the work unit. Among the above-mentioned 64% of electric vehicle owners who choose to charge at home, 61% of users said that they would choose a public charging pile to "emergency" only when the car happened to be out of power and could not go home.

The survey also revealed that the location of the charging station is also one of the main factors affecting British people's purchase of electric vehicles. Among British car owners with private charging posts, 67% said they would not choose to buy an electric car if they could not charge at home. Among car owners who also use public charging piles, 91% of users said that they were still willing to buy electric vehicles even when they knew they could not complete charging near their home. For potential buyers who do not already own an electric vehicle, 40% of the respondents said that the inability to install a private charging station is the reason they do not currently purchase an electric vehicle. Another 30% of respondents said that charging "too much trouble" was their biggest obstacle to buying an electric car, "because there is no condition to have a fixed and convenient charging location." At the same time, 89% of respondents who do not have an electric vehicle say they are willing to buy an electric vehicle if they can install a private charging station on a street or work place near their home.

Connected Kerb CEO Chris Pateman Jones said the survey aimed to understand the UK market's demand for car charging infrastructure. In his view, the lack of charging infrastructure has hindered the popularity of electric vehicles in the UK.

"The survey tells us how to attract people to buy electric cars in the UK. Charging services should be provided where people often park, rather than installing a large number of public charging poles in the streets, which is key." Chris Pateman Jones said "Different from traditional fuel vehicles, the" fueling "thinking of electric vehicle users has changed. Because of the longer charging time and shorter battery life, their first choice is not the" gas station "-a public charging pile, but they want to have A private charging place for self-use. Owners of electric vehicles want to start charging after they stop, rather than charging at a charging station when it is absolutely necessary to charge. "

In fact, a number of British electric vehicle charging infrastructure companies have also conducted related investigations before. Most of the respondents who own electric vehicles said that the number of existing charging piles could not meet their daily charging needs, and about 20% of potential buyers said that the lack of charging resources was the reason why they did not buy electric vehicles.

Against this background, the UK is stepping up the construction of electric vehicle basic designs. In early March, the United Kingdom announced plans to allocate 1.5 billion pounds for the construction of electric vehicle infrastructure, of which 500 million pounds were used to build large public charging stations to create "charging hubs" and another 1 billion pounds were used to build street charging poles. However, according to the above survey results, the market obviously cannot fully recognize the vigorous development of public charging piles.

However, the energy information website International Smart Energy quoted industry insiders as saying that the ideal situation is of course that each household has its own private charging pile, but this is not realistic. The most important factor is economic factors. For the rich, their residential areas have enough places to meet the installation needs of private charging piles, while the poorer areas have no corresponding conditions. Therefore, a large number of public charging piles may be a feasible alternative.