In our ongoing series on electromobility, today we are taking a deeper dive into the topic of charging behaviour and infrastructure and looking at how people charge their electric vehicles and what obstacles and problems they experience.
Of the electric car drivers surveyed, more than 70% have private charging facilities, with 80% of them using a wallbox. However, there is still room for improvement among employers, as two thirds of respondents do not have the option to charge their vehicles at work.
The coverage of public charging facilities is by no means uniform. On the one hand, one electric car owner described it positively: “I’m lucky, I have five charging points within 500 metres of my home […] So I really do have enough charging options, even if one is occupied somewhere.”
On the other hand, another interviewee reported problematic situations in which he was unable to find a free charging point despite a low remaining range: “We couldn’t find a working or free charging point in the whole city.” These diverse experiences illustrate how satisfaction with public charging facilities can depend heavily on the local situation.
At the same time, it is clear that satisfaction with the range per battery charge is primarily dependent on the chosen car brand. While 83% of Tesla owners say they are (very) satisfied with their range, this figure is only 67% for owners of models from the Hyundai Motor Group and only 53% for models from the Volkswagen Group.
In addition to the range and the general availability of charging options, the blocking of charging stations is another problem, as emphasised by one electric car owner: “What bothers me are parking offenders or vehicles that are already fully charged and are then not driven away from the charging station.”
It also happens that the charging apps do not always display the current status of the charging stations correctly: “I’ve driven to other charging stations and they were occupied even though the app said they were free, even on site.” This shows a complexity of challenges that electric car drivers can face in everyday life, be it the charging infrastructure, the individual range or the (mis)behaviour of other electric car owners.
In the next article, we will take a closer look at the role of the government and the industry in promoting and developing electric mobility. Stay tuned to find out more about the future of electric mobility and the measures being taken to improve the charging infrastructure.
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