Speed limit, environmental awareness and social behavior: That's what makes German e-car drivers tick
German e-car owners drive electric with conviction and are characterized by a high level of environmental awareness. In a study with market research institute Dynata, ChargeX asked over 500 e-car drivers about their personal attitudes, charging behavior and their wishes regarding e-mobility. More than half cite environmental reasons as their main motivation, 71 percent of German e-car drivers are in favour of a speed limit and just under half are prepared to pay more for electricity than for gas.
Charging is still one of the main topics that concern e-car drivers. 83 percent of those surveyed are consciously planning to charge their vehicle. 80 percent have problems finding free charging spaces — in the big city, the figure is as high as 86 percent. It is most difficult in city centers and in supermarket parking lots. If there are too few free charging spaces, 89 percent of Germans repark as soon as they have charged themselves in order to free up space for others. 58 percent continue to charge via their own wallbox and 30 percent use public charging stations. The majority of respondents only need between 61 and 120 minutes of charging time to cover their daily mobility needs.
90 percent drive e-cars privately — over half for the sake of the environment
The majority of German e-car drivers are male, between 26 and 40 years old and live in a city with over 20,000 inhabitants. More than 90 percent of those surveyed drive the e-car privately, while 51 percent opted for a vehicle with 201 to 400 kilometers and 22 percent chose an e-car with a range of over 400 kilometers. 33 percent earn between 3,000 and 4,999 euros and 28 percent over 5,000 euros gross per month. More than half say that they bought their e-car for the sake of the environment — men and women alike. Only 15 percent have opted for an e-car as a result of government funding and 17 percent because of the tax advantages. 54 percent only have electric vehicles in their homes, 22 percent also drive combustion engines and 21 percent rely on alternative forms of drive, such as hybrid.
Only 4 percent are reparking due to the blocking fee
While 58 percent charge via their own wallbox, 30 percent rely on the use of public charging stations. 9 percent charge primarily at the employer. Respondents would like to see more charging stations, particularly in city centers and supermarket parking lots. But employers, hotels and restaurants also lack charging facilities. 89 percent of those surveyed therefore take other e-car drivers into consideration. 50 percent change parking immediately as soon as their demand for the next trip is met. 39 percent leave the charging station as soon as the vehicle is fully charged. Only 4 percent repark when the blocking fee is due and 5 percent leave their vehicle parked longer without reparking.
Employers can score points with free charging options
Only one in ten drives a purely electric company car, everyone else has bought an e-car privately. Nevertheless, the employer's support for e-mobility is a major advantage. For the majority of respondents, free charging options at the employer are the most interesting benefit, followed by an e-fuel card of up to 50 euros per month. Only 15 percent attach more importance to providing an e-car as a company vehicle. Employee benefits such as tax-free job tickets or train cards are less exciting.
About Charge X
ChargeX GmbH, based in Munich, founded in 2018, develops and produces charging infrastructure solutions and products for electric vehicles. The company has already installed several thousand charging points. The Aqueduct modular solution is the world's only intelligent and patented multi-socket for electric cars. It makes it possible to charge many vehicles with just one network connection. The network-friendly system can be extended to up to 10 charging points via plug & play, distributing the energy to the vehicles to be charged as required. With its charging solution, ChargeX aims to charge e-cars when they are not needed, at home and at work. More below: www.chargex.de.
