Affordability threatens to put the breaks on Germany’s electric mobility – study
With skyrocketing gas prices and expensive electric mobility options, the Mobility Study 2022 – published by Continental – has found that consumers are increasingly worried about the affordability of their mobility.
According to the study, generally high inflation rates and the rapid rise in energy prices are threatening to put the brakes on the transformation of mobility in Germany.
Sustainability, specifically in relation to cars, is becoming increasingly relevant to a majority of German citizens. In accordance with this, 44% of Germans surveyed expect the future of mobility to be electric.
For a narrow majority of people in Germany, however, environmentally friendly mobility is not currently viewed as a priority against the backdrop of high electricity, gasoline and diesel fuel prices.
Cost is on people’s minds when it comes to switching to climate-friendly mobility as well: half of the respondents are not prepared to spend more on an environmentally friendly vehicle than on a conventional one. At the same time, almost half (43%) indicate high costs as a reason against purchasing an electric vehicle (EV).
In the opinion of a vast majority, governments should therefore do more – through subsidies, for instance – to ensure a rise in the proportion of emission-free vehicles and, above all, to ensure that mobility remains affordable overall.
It is the duty of policymakers to create the framework conditions required to achieve this – these expectations are made quite clear by those who took part in the mobility study.
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Soaring electricity costs and a lack of information
The study determined that costs and still-inadequate infrastructure are barriers to higher demand for environmentally friendly mobility – particularly for electric mobility.
Some two thirds of the survey respondents in Germany feel insufficiently informed about what it costs to buy and run an electric car. Due to the soaring electricity costs, 67% are unsure about purchasing an EV. Overall, a majority (62%) therefore do not feel that they will be able to afford an EV in the near future.
The majority of respondents, however, do see it as important or even very important that the materials used for their car are environmentally friendly and sustainable, and also that social standards and human rights are upheld during production and along the entire supply chain.
At the same time, the majority of respondents are not prepared to pay a premium for reused or recycled materials in their vehicles. The same applies to the use of fuels obtained through renewable energy such as green hydrogen.
Hopes for government subsidies
Generally, the vast majority of respondents (73%) are worried that mobility is no longer – or will no longer remain – affordable for them due to the rise in energy costs.
More than four of five respondents (82%) think it is up to the government to ensure that mobility remains affordable. 77% see it as the responsibility of the government to ensure that environmentally friendly mobility becomes less expensive than environmentally harmful concepts.
“The Mobility Study 2022 shows that people are in favour of the transformation toward low-emission or emission-free mobility that has begun and are prepared to take that route as well,” explained Steffen Schwartz-Höfler, head of sustainability at Continental, on the findings.
“At the same time, however, the results of this year’s Continental Mobility Study worldwide show that private consumers are unwilling to bear the financial burden of this mobility transformation alone. If this project is therefore to succeed at the necessary pace, the new forms of sustainable mobility must be affordable. Only then will they be positively received”.
The Mobility Study 2022, was published by Continental and conducted in collaboration with market research company infas.
