Austrians are not fond of electronics

Austrians are not fond of electronics

The market for e-mobility in Austria appears to be slightly slowed down, as a current survey by the testing and consulting organization EY shows: Although Austrians' intention to purchase cars of all drive classes - including gasoline and diesel engines - increased from 22 percent to 28 percent last year, interest in purchasing electrified vehicles has decreased from 47 percent to 40 percent. In particular, the intention to purchase purely electric cars has fallen sharply - only one in eight (12%) can imagine buying an electric car as their next vehicle; in the previous year there were almost twice as many (23%). There was also a sharp decline in interest in purchasing hybrid vehicles from 17 to eight percent. Interest has only increased significantly in plug-in hybrids - while last year only seven percent were enthusiastic about these models, today it is almost one in five (19%). These are the results of the EY Mobility Consumer Index 2024, for which over 19,000 consumers in 28 countries worldwide were surveyed on behalf of the consulting and auditing organization EY, including 500 in Austria.

Axel Preiss, Head of Advanced Manufacturing and Mobility at EY, said: "The interest in e-cars is fundamentally there, but questions about range or the costs of ongoing operation continue to concern many Austrians. The registration figures for this market segment are currently developing accordingly. This is not an easy situation for car manufacturers - they have invested heavily in e-mobility and of course have corresponding expectations of sales in this segment." While in Austria the intention to purchase a vehicle with an electrified drive has declined over the last year and is at 40 percent this year, interest continues to increase internationally: on average, 58 percent of all respondents in the 28 countries evaluated want to buy an electrified vehicle. Interest in this segment has grown steadily in recent years - from 30 percent in the first year of the survey in 2020 to more than half of respondents in this year's survey. One in four (24%) even intends to buy a purely electric car.

With 40 percent, Austria is in third-to-last place internationally when it comes to the intention to buy an electrified car. Only in the USA (34%) and the Czech Republic (27%) is interest even lower. In neighboring Germany, interest at 53 percent is also slightly below the European average (57%). In Europe, the purchase intention of electrified cars is highest in Norway (72%), internationally in China (79%), followed by Singapore (73%) and Thailand (73%). “China is in the fast lane when it comes to switching to electric cars,” explains Preiss. “Austria, on the other hand, still has a lot of catching up to do in order to be able to compete internationally.” As was the case last year, limited range remains the main reason why Austrians are against buying an electric car (38%). The second barrier is the perceived high cost of maintaining and repairing such vehicles (28%). For around one in five (21%), the lack of charging infrastructure also speaks against buying an electric car. “Even if electric cars are a deterrent due to their high purchase and installation costs, the operating costs remain manageable and can even be cheaper in the long term,” says Preiss.