AAA conducted a survey on electric car owners.
Towson, Md (KM) It seems that a lot of concerns about owning an electric car are being dispelled by actually owning one.
AAA says it conducted a survey of electric car owners and found that 91% of them had a few concerns about purchasing these types of vehicles, mostly that the charge would run out while they’re driving, and the lack of charging stations. But after buying an electric vehicle, the auto club study found that most of these fears dissolved. “Almost all owners surveyed, about 95%, reported never having run out of a charge while driving, and on average do 75% of their charging at home,” says Ragina Ali, a spokeswoman for AAA Mid-Atlantic.
She also says the study found that owning an electric car costs about $600 more compared to a gas-powered vehicle. But there are certain categories where owning an electric vehicle is less costly than one powered by gasoline. “If maintained according to the automaker’s recommendations, electric vehicles actually cost $330 less than a gas-powered car, a total about $949 annually as far as it relates to maintenance and tire repairs,” says Ali. She also notes electric cars do not require periodic oil changes or replacing the air filter.
The AAA says it conducted a survey of electric car owners, and found that 71% had not previously owned such a vehicle prior to their current car. Also, 96% said they would buy or lease another electric vehicle the next time they were in the market for a new car. In addition, 43% said they drive more now than they did when they owned a gas-powered car; in fact, electric vehicle owners drive an average of 39 miles per day, the auto club says. And 78% of electric car owners report they have a gas-powered vehicle in their household, but they do a majority of their driving (87%) in their electric vehicles
Ali says electric vehicles have become popular in recent years. “We saw that electric vehicle sales went up between 2017 and 2018,” she says. “We saw about a 94.17% increase.”
AAA says the survey of electric vehicle owners was conducted using a consumer panel maintained by a third-party electric vehicle research firm. In total, the auto club says 1,090 surveys of owners of plug-in vehicles were completed during a 24-hour period on October 1st, 2019.
By Kevin McManus