Electric car owners are no longer afraid of a dead battery

range anxiety, or charging stress, is the fear of running out of battery when driving an electric car. Although this fear has been a topic of discussion in recent years, it seems that EV drivers are becoming more positive. At least as far as the acquisition costs are concerned.

The fear of standing with a dead battery is because there are fewer places to charge than fuel. But now that there are many charging stations in the Netherlands, the charging stress is trickling away. This is the result of a study by ALD Automotive among 1,583 leasing drivers (both private and commercial).

Electric car drivers are not afraid of a dead battery

Last year, 63 percent of the drivers of an electric car surveyed were of the opinion that there were not enough charging points in the neighborhood. Now that number has dropped to 51 percent. That’s still a lot, but it’s a significant decrease.

79 percent of leasing drivers no longer see the number of charging points as a reason not to opt for an electric car. Only 31 percent of those surveyed are afraid of standing still (loading stress).

What is striking in the study is that almost 40 percent of e-leasing drivers see the current energy network as an obstacle when considering a fully electric car. The opinion of the non-electric leasing drivers is more striking, of which no less than 59% see the energy grid as an obstacle.

In addition, many believe that the state is investing too little in charging options at companies and in public charging stations. According to the majority of leasing drivers, the state also pays too little attention to charging options in their own driveway. In addition, 60 percent consider the charging costs to be non-transparent.

E-cars are still expensive

Jeroen Kruisweg, Managing Director of ALD Automotive, says: “The government is gradually phasing out the tax benefits for electric cars. At the same time, we see rising prices for electric cars. It dampens the enthusiasm of lease drivers to switch to electric vehicles because the costs are getting higher at the end of the line. Everything shows that the government should not sit back and relax. Motorists who have switched to an electric car are positive. Rather, they are ambassadors for the energy transition and we must prevent them from going back to petrol cars.”