A new survey of automakers from the leading research group KPMG points to a gloomy future ahead for the electric vehicle market, but the naysayers don’t appear to be taking energy storage breakthroughs into account. In the latest development, new research headed up by Brookhaven National Laboratory points the way to reducing battery charging times, a key obstacle cited by auto industry executives in the survey.
Auto Execs Still Not Sure About Electric Vehicles…
On the surface, the new KPMG electric vehicle survey paints a sad face on the electric vehicle market. Under the title, “2018 KPMG Global Automotive Executive Survey,” the research firm presents this finding from the responses of about 1,000 executives:
Despite the hype and massive automotive OEM investment in battery electric vehicles (BEVs), more than half (54%) of global auto executives say they believe these vehicles will fail commercially due to infrastructure challenges while 60 percent say excessive recharging times will do them in…
Ouch!
90 of the respondents are based in the US. Not surprisingly, the survey finds the US group to be “far more skeptical than their global counterparts.”
It also appears that automakers are having a tough time convincing the general public that all-electric transport is the way to go. KPMG surveyed 2,100 consumers in 42 countries including the US:
Only 13% of consumer respondents outside the United States and 5% in the U.S., said they would buy a pure battery electric vehicle over the next five years.
The relatively low interest among US consumers is not surprising, either. The disparity between US and global attitudes comes into even sharper focus when consumers are asked about buying hybrid EVs:
…50% of consumers outside of the United States indicate they would opt for a hybrid — hybrid electric (33%) or plug-in hybrid electric (17%) vehicles — over the next five years, or internal combustion engine (18%). U.S. consumers, on the other hand, say they’ll stick with ICE vehicles (54%), followed by hybrid electric (24%).
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