German new car buyers aren’t thinking electric

Barely two in 10 German new car buyers are thinking about choosing an electric car.

Only 16% of prospective new car buyers in Germany are considering getting an EV, compared with the 84% majority still opting for internal combustion.

The research poll published by energy firm E.On, says “For the whole of Europe, the high purchase price comes first, followed by the non-existent possibility of recharging the car.”

Electric vehicle range is cited as the most common reason for Germans to stick with internal combustion, with 68 percent of respondents saying it’s “a reason not to switch to an electric car”.

“Range is viewed most critically,” the poll suggests, yet it hasn’t deterred 5000-plus Germans from registering electric vehicles in August – double the amount of August 2018.

Of Germany’s 47 million registered private vehicles, there are just 420,000 electric or hybrid vehicles on the road, sharing just 17,400 power points or charging stations along its road network, Bloomberg

reports.

Germany sustainable transport lobby group VCD’s chairwoman Kerstin Haarmann is reported as saying “a parade of fat SUVs and gas guzzlers” were to be the greater focus of this week’s automotive fair IAA in Frankfurt, with only 19 EVs being presented.

Haarmann says the industry’s push for internal combustion “during the climate crisis is a relict of the past”.