The EV Index from Sophus3 - How ready is the market for Electric Vehicles? January 2020
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The EV Index: How ready is the market for electric vehicles? Introduction 2020 is being touted as a breakthrough year for Electric Index which we present here for the first time. Vehicles (EV) when we will - at last - see them achieve The purpose of the index is to provide an objective significant sales volume. Although we would welcome measure of the readiness of the vehicle market to enable such an outcome, we remain skeptical as to whether it and encourage the mainstream adoption and ownership will materialise within the next twelve months on the of EVs. The index looks at three key areas: consumer scale some, including car manufacturers’ PR depart- interest in EVs, the pricing and availability of these cars, ments, would have us believe is possible. and the maturity of the necessary infrastructure to allow The evidence from the vehicle market itself is that whilst an expanding EV fleet to function effectively. growth rates are encouraging, EV’s overall market share Only through a clear-eyed understanding and assess- remains negligible and that consumer interest is still ment of these drivers of, and barriers to, EV acquisition firmly focused on conventionally fuelled SUVs. will interested parties be able to move the electric vehi- The evidence from our online data is that EV shoppers cle market forward. remain a small, self-selecting group who arrive in the market having already decided on an EV purchase. As yet, buyers of popular ‘volume’ models seldom consider an EV purchase. Scott Gairns To progress EV adoption requires, we believe, more than Managing Director, Sophus wishful thinking. This is why we have developed the EV London, January 2020. sophus3.com 2
The EV Index: How ready is the market for electric vehicles? Contents 1. Executive summary 4 2. The electric vehicle market 5 3. How car buyers are shopping for EVs 10 4. The EV Index from Sophus3 16 sophus3.com 3
The EV Index: How ready is the market for electric vehicles? 1. Executive summary The market The EV buyer Introducing the EV Index • Despite a recent increase in sales, Electric Vehicles • Online data shows that under 4% of car buyers • The Sophus3 EV Index provides objective measure- (EVs) still represent less than 2% of the new car consider an electric vehicle in the ‘Big 5’ markets ment of a market’s ability to enable and encourage market (compared with 20% in Norway) EV adoption • New CO2 regulations coming into effect in 2020 are • Those shopping for EVs review almost exclusively • The EV Index measures three elements: consumer a major driver for car manufacturers to increase their just EV models interest in EVs, the availability and price of EVs, the EV sales extent of the charging infrastructure to support EV • Those reviewing popular, conventionally-fuelled cars use • Subsidies and government incentives remain key to seldom look at EVs as an alternative EV adoption: where these are removed or reduced, • The Index is published quarterly to measure progress • EV shoppers are more hesitant in their behaviour and demand for EVs is shown to be ‘soft’ towards EV adoption require more time and information to consider their • 2020 sees a raft of cheaper EV models being intro- choices • Traffic light coding of each element highlights where duced which are intended as ‘mass market’ models significant impediments exist • However, once an EV shopper engages online they • Conventionally fuelled SUVs however continue to are far more likely to complete an action such as a • The performance of an individual brand can be dominate and their market share has been increasing test drive request assessed using the same methodology to benchmark its own progress, either against competitors or the market as a whole sophus3.com 4
The EV Index: How ready is the market for electric vehicles? 2. The electric vehicle market A mountain still to climb The latest sales figures for electric cars continue to EV sales in the European market encourage with the pace of their growth, yet remain so- bering as they also show the daunting task that remains Even if recent rapid growth is sustained, electrification will take decades ahead for these vehicles to obtain significant market share. During the third quarter of 2019, registrations of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) grew +126% in the European Union, even so, they barely represented 2% of all new cars sold1. When we consider that the European vehicle fleet (all the cars in operation) numbers more than 300 million2 then the speed of adoption needs to accelerate, and the overall sales volume of EVs increase massively, if countries are to meet their targets for CO2 emissions reductions and the replacement of conven- tionally fuelled cars. That need has grown more urgent over the course of 2019. The extinction rebellion movement arrived to am- plify the warnings of scientists that we are on the brink of an irreversible climate crisis, that threatens unprece- dented disruption and human suffering. A growing number of national, regional and local gov- ernments have declared a climate emergency3. In this context, road transport is recognised as a major source of greenhouse gases, but also, more positively, as a sec- tor where a changeover to alternative fuelled vehicles sophus3.com 5
The EV Index: How ready is the market for electric vehicles? could deliver large cuts in CO2 without affecting much A supply side problem? valued freedoms of mobility. For the car industry, reaching those targets and recoup- Unusually, environmental activists and car manufac- ing their considerable investments, is seen primarily as turers are pretty much on the same page regarding the an engineering challenge, or a combination of challeng- need to shift to electric vehicles. In the case of the car es. The industry’s current focus is on battery technology: industry however this is the result of imminent legislative not only the competition to deliver best-in-class vehicle restrictions rather than a Damascene conversion to a range, but also to master battery manufacture so as to ‘green’ vision. achieve scale and to reduce costs. The deployment of solid-state batteries is the industry’s next holy grail7. From January 2020 new Europe-wide CO2 regulations (Much of the car companies’ current thinking around for cars and vans come into force4. EV technology is how to create and protect Intellectual Property from which they can lever advantage, either by These mandate an average CO2 emission of just 95g/ retaining exclusive access to technical innovations, or, by km for the 2021 European vehicle fleet. Over the next profitably licensing them to their competitors.) decade these limits will get progressively steeper. Car makers who miss their targets will face fines that run But underpinning this fixation with technology is an to, potentially, billions of euros.5 Hence the string of an- assumption that has not been really tested. “If you build credit: Henry Nicholls / Reuters nouncements by manufacturers over the last 12 months it, they will come” seems to be the engineers’ motto: of their plans to roll out more electric vehicles, and set- assuming that if they can deliver a well-built electric car ting ambitious sales targets for these new models. then, as night follows day, droves of buyers will quickly materialise. A recent study showed the automotive industry’s huge and sincere commitment in this area, listing investments that total more than US$300 billion in EV technology and plant6. sophus3.com 6
The EV Index: How ready is the market for electric vehicles? Or a demand side cess with the largest electric fleet per capita in the world. The evidence from elsewhere is that incentivisation and In October 2019, 36% of the vehicles bought were pure other governmental intervention in the car market is challenge? battery vehicles . 9 currently a key driver of adoption, and that without it, But with pure electric cars at just 2% of the market, demand for electric vehicles remains soft. Yet what is most obvious about this level of adoption they remain clearly entrenched within the ‘early adopter’ is that it is being driven by sticks, rather than being led In the UK, for example, sales of Plug-in Hybrid Electric phase of the classic product acceptance curve. The in- by carrots. Tax differentials mean that a €22K gasoline Vehicles (PHEVs) fell steeply following the government’s dications are that the mass market remains on the other powered Volkswagen Golf ends up costing the Norwe- decision in October 2018 to, in future, exclude them side of a chasm of consumer scepticism8. What is per- gian car buyer €34K. This makes the tax-free e-Golf, the from the plug-in car grant. Year-to-date sales of PHEVs haps most worrying about car brands’ current strategy, electric model, at €33k the more attractive choice10. in the UK are down -27% as of October 2019, whilst laid out in countless upbeat press briefings, is that there sales of pure plug-ins, which still receive the subsidy, are does not seem to be any recognition of such a chasm, The German government for one, understands these dy- up 125%11. never mind an inkling of how it is to be crossed. namics of the fledgling EV market and recently increased the incentive for EV purchase from €4,000 to €6,000. (In Looking further afield we saw the new energy vehicle The evidence from the market is that future demand for this case the subsidies seem to be as much an instru- market in China fall 34% in September of this year as the next generation of electric cars reaching the show- ment of industrial as of environmental policy with the subsidies were realigned12. rooms in the coming months can be far from assumed. aim of assisting the German car industry to achieve Norway remains the poster child for electric vehicle suc- dominance as the EV market matures.) sophus3.com 7
The EV Index: How ready is the market for electric vehicles? The summit or bust! Nevertheless a number of manufacturers remain con- vinced that the time is right to seek the mass market for EVs and are lining up new products at lower price points with the intention of achieving volume sales. (All prices quoted include government grants where these apply.) The Mini Electric (top left) launches in March 2020 at a price of €32.5k in Germany and of £24.4k in the UK. Volkswagen has explicitly likened the launch of its ID.3 Mini Electric Volkswagen ID.3 model (top right) to an ‘assault’ on the market. The company expects an ambitious 40% of its sales to be of battery vehicles by 2030. (Volkswagen group sold 10.9 million vehicles in 2018.) Again, the ID.3 is promised at a price of “under €30,000” in Europe. First deliveries of the Opel/Vauxhall Corsa-e (bottom left) are expected in the Spring, again at a sub -€30k price point. In the Summer, the Honda e (bottom right) also enters the fray. Time will soon tell whether consumer curiosity in EVs translates into sales and whether lower pricing, and the engineering improvements that have been achieved, will Opel/Vauxhall Corsa-e Honda e conquer the barriers to EV purchase. sophus3.com 8
The EV Index: How ready is the market for electric vehicles? Consumer interest is CO2 emissions. The International Energy Agency (IEA) warned recently, “If consumers’ appetite for SUVs con- currently elsewhere tinues to grow at a similar pace seen in the last decade, The evidence from nearly every car market, both in SUVs would add nearly 2 million barrels a day in global Europe and globally, is that consumer preferences are oil demand by 2040, offsetting the savings from nearly still focused elsewhere, and that EVs are not high in their 150 million electric cars.”15 consideration list. Demand the world over is for SUVs: At this point in time we can therefore have little con- large, small and in between. In the US half of the cars fidence that the market for electric vehicles will bloom sold this year will be SUVs — a doubling of their market on consumer demand alone. Manufacturers face the share since 200813. inescapable tyranny of the adoption curve, and to climb Year-to-date in the ‘Big 5’ European markets, SUV sales it may require much more than clever engineering. have risen yet again to take 38% market share . 14 The consequence of this shift in taste has had a disas- trous impact on ambitions to curtail road transport’s ‘SUV Madness’ — despite a backlash in some markets on safety and environmental grounds, the demand for off-road vehicles shows no sign of abating.16 sophus3.com 9
The EV Index: How ready is the market for electric vehicles? 3. How car buyers are shopping for EVs Sales from the car market gives a fairly blunt picture Online data from car brand and automotive publisher of the current low level of consumer uptake of electric websites allows deeper insights into the car buying jour- vehicles. However, it tells us little about the number of ney, the numbers of people reviewing EVs as a purchase people who may have considered such a purchase, or option, and the points at which their interest may stall. at what point and for what reason they may have have This data is unique to Sophus3 through its management rejected an EV from their consideration list. of eDataXchange (eDX), a sector-wide, collaborative project through which car brands share data from their Recent surveys of car buyers by our colleagues at the digital platforms so as to understand the car buyers’ Lead Agency confirm that the majority of those in-mar- online journey and benchmark their own performance. ket are not ill disposed towards EVs. When asked directly, “Are you interested in an EV when you consider The inclusiveness of the eDX data set provides a your next vehicle purchase?” nearly 60% respond- more complete picture of consumer interest than can ed positively. The number who said ‘yes’ increasing be gained from survey-based research. In the last 12 amongst shoppers for premium brands. Those consider- months for example, over 1.7 billion visits to car web- ing leasing a car were even more open to trying an EV, sites and 30 million hours of consumer interactions have with 66% expressing interest. been analyzed. The following charts provide some high level insights into the current state of online interest in EVs. sophus3.com 10
The EV Index: How ready is the market for electric vehicles? Online interest in EVs Website visits to EV models as a remains small: less than a percentage of all model visits third of their audience will move towards purchase The doughnut graphs show the percentage of visits to Electric Vehicle model pages on car brand sites relative to the number of visits to all models (the size of each doughnut shows the relative size of each country’s online audience). The level of interest, as we can see is relatively small in the ‘Big 5’ markets, averaging just over 4%. However, this does suggest that almost three times as many people are reviewing EVs online compared to the percentage who end up buying them (sales of EVs in the first three quarters of 2018 made up just 1.3% of all car sales in these markets). The conclusion is that 2 out of 3 people who consider an EV are currently rejecting that choice. Only in Norway is there a sizable level of online inter- est in EV models. In fact here the relationship between online interest and sales outcomes moves in the other direction. Registrations of pure EVs in Norway topped 40% during the first 9 months of 2019, whilst online interest in EVs was just 20% of visits to all model pages. sophus3.com 11
The EV Index: How ready is the market for electric vehicles? Interest in EVs appears to Website visits to Top 5 EVs showing exist within a silo their most viewed competitors The anonymised eDX models visit data allows us to infer which other car models have also interested visitors to a specific EV model. When we look at the Top 5 most visited EVs in the UK market, represented in the graphic right, and the most popular other models that visitors to these pages also viewed, it is clear that the audience’s interest is pretty exclusively focused on EV models. 18 of the 25 EV competitors are themselves EVs, whilst more than 80% of the shared visits went to other EV model. The conclusion is that those researching EVs are very specifically pursuing a choice they have already taken. There is little sign of a more general audience consid- ering an EV as one possibility from a broader group of vehicles. sophus3.com 12
The EV Index: How ready is the market for electric vehicles? The buyers of mainstream, Visitors to Fiesta model to the Fiesta who also visited an EV increasing to 4% of the total. However, the highest placed EV was still way volume cars do not consider % who also viewed an EV model down in 27th place in the ranking of traffic from the EV models Fiesta page to other cars. Earlier in the year we analysed traffic to the model page This pattern of traffic, visible for most volume cars, for the UK’s biggest selling new car, the Ford Fiesta, to confirms the view that EVs are in the silo we described, see what other purchase choices visitors to its model and are not, as yet, being perceived or explored as an page considered. We found that of the 800,000 visitors alternative to mainstream cars. to the page, only 3% had visited or went on to visit an EV model. Repeating the analysis in October, we mea- sured a slight improvement, with the number of visitors sophus3.com 13
The EV Index: How ready is the market for electric vehicles? EV buyers look for informa- Average time spent on car website Visitors who start an online tion and reassurance and model pages engagement are slow to engage The following graphs combine to give a snapshot of the differences in behaviour between the EV shopper and those looking at petrol and diesel models. The findings are based on visit data to all the ICE and EV model pag- es tracked through eDataXchange in the ‘Big 5’ Europe- an markets from January to November 2019. Those reviewing an EV spend considerably longer on the When a visitor goes to certain pages on car brand model page than they do for other types of car. This sug- websites it is seen as indicating a more serious intent. gests the consumer’s need to find out more information Such pages include the vehicle configurator, a test drive about this new type of vehicle. (It could also indicate that request page or a dealer locator map. Analysis of traffic the information that is available is more difficult for them shows that whilst 11% of those reviewing ICE cars will to understand and absorb.) move to one of these ‘engagement’ areas, EV visitors are more hesitant. Only 7% will click on an engagement destination. sophus3.com 14
The EV Index: How ready is the market for electric vehicles? Visitors who begin a test drive Visitors who complete a test drive The previous examples show the insights that digital data can provide into car buyer behaviour. Sophus3 col- request request lects more than 60 EV customer insight metrics. These can be viewed at the market, brand and even model level. As we have seen, the data can help car brands understand the differences in their EV buyer’s journey and identify key points where they can better engage with and assist their customers. ICE shoppers are more relaxed about considering a Whilst the overall number of people visiting a car brand test drive of a new car whereas the EV shopper again site who go on to request a test drive is inevitably appears more hesitant. However, once the EV shopper minuscule, the difference in EV shopper behaviour is starts a test drive request they are far more likely to actually quite dramatic: whilst they are 37% less likely to follow through and submit that request (see figure on start a test drive inquiry, once they have, they are 21% right). more likely to complete it. sophus3.com 15
The EV Index: How ready is the market for electric vehicles? 4. The EV Index from Sophus3 Tracking progress within the electric vehicle market The purpose of the Sophus3 EV Index is to provide an objective measure of the readiness of the vehicle market Sophus3 makes the Index available for free to the many and varied interest groups following and promoting the What goes into the index? to enable and encourage the mainstream adoption and growth of the electric vehicle sector, be they vehicle The Sophus3 EV Index is formed of three pillars mea- ownership of electric vehicles (EVs). manufacturers, environmentalists, marketeers or govern- suring distinct factors that help or hinder electric vehicle mental agencies. adoption. First of these is the consumer appetite to buy The EV Index is published quarterly. Initially it will electric, the second is the capability of the automotive measure the European ‘Big 5’ markets and benchmark In that spirit of openness we welcome comments and companies to supply those cars, and the third is the these with each other, as well as the Norwegian market feedback, as well as suggestions as to how the index availability of suitable infrastructure to allow an ex- which has the highest level of EV adoption globally. The could be enhanced and used more effectively. panding EV fleet to function effectively to meet buyers’ purpose of the index will be to track, over time, whether mobility needs. improvements are being made to the different drivers of EV adoption and where barriers remain to deter their adoption. sophus3.com 16
The EV Index from Sophus3 provides a clear, simple rating of a car market’s readiness to ‘go electric’. A score of 100 represents a state of parity where EV purchase The Index is made up of and ownership would be as three ‘pillars’, the critical simple and no more costly drivers of — or barriers to than owning a petrol or diesel — EV adoption. car. The EV Index is published quarterly to show how The Index and each of the EV market conditions are pillars are traffic-light coded evolving over time. to highlight areas where progress is being made, or where barriers to EV adoption remain.
The EV Index: How ready is the market for electric vehicles? The consumer Automotive Infrastructure appetite for EVs brands’ ability to readiness supply EVs Using online data, Sophus3 can quickly understand how In this part of the index we measure firstly, the propor- It is all very well encouraging consumers to purchase many people from the huge online audience to automo- tion of electric models on offer from manufacturers com- an EV, but without the assurances of sufficient infra- tive sites are actively pursuing an EV purchase. We can pared to conventionally powered petrol and diesel cars. structure to support that choice, in the form of suitably see the proportion of the total audience for car brand More importantly, we look at the pricing of the two types dispersed charging facilities, then those efforts will come sites who are looking at EVs. Consumer appetite is of vehicle to calculate the premium that an EV buyer to nothing. further measured by the volume of web searches for EVs must pay and how that may be changing over time. Whilst the number of public charging points, the land compared to the search volume for internal combustion Pricing is central to differentiating how accessible elec- area, population, and the size of the vehicle fleet allow engined (ICE) vehicles. tric cars really are for consumers in each market, rather for a high-level calculation of the density of facilities, the This consumer behaviour is given further weighting by than being halo products that the manufacturer expects results are not always useful. This is because people, comparing online behaviour with real world outcomes to sell only in small numbers. ‘On the Road’ pricing and their travel needs, can be dispersed geographically — the number of actual EV registrations (sales) that take is used which includes all taxes, delivery and other in very uneven ways. The UK for example, with a pop- place in the market. As EV market share grows, this adds charges. Where a central government subsidy is offered ulation density of 274 people per km2 has, perhaps not a virtuous momentum to the shift in consumer consider- on purchase of an EV, this is included in the calculated surprisingly, one of the highest percentages in Europe of ation by creating reference points for those consumers. price. people living in densely populated areas: 57%. However, Iceland, with a population density of just 3.5 people per The higher the level of online interest in EVs then the The more EVs that are on offer and the lower the km2 actually has a much greater proportion of its people higher the contribution to the index. That contribution, premium paid, the higher the score contributed by this living in areas defined as densely populated: 70%.17 as we have said, being given additional weighting by the element to the overall index. real world sales achieved. Such variations mean that the EV infrastructure required in different countries and regions will look very different sophus3.com 18
The EV Index: How ready is the market for electric vehicles? both in scale and extent from what one might be imag- Combining the data into a gies to create an EV Index for individual car brands. This ined from a simple calculation of population density. will show how they are positioned within their market, single index enabling them to benchmark their progress against com- To assess likely infrastructure need we have therefore The three separate indices are combined mathematically petitors, and understand their own audience’s propensity used the current gasoline/diesel filling station infrastruc- to give a single number that represents the readiness to buy electric. This ‘personalised’ index can form the ture to provide a proxy understanding of the variations in of a market to go electric. However, in publishing the basis of a ready understanding of the barriers, both ex- infrastructure requirement between markets. Given that index we also show, and grade, the contribution of each ternal and internal, that a car brand needs to overcome the petroleum distribution network has adapted organ- element. This is because significant shortcomings in one to realise its electric vehicle ambitions. ically to efficiently meet the needs of the predominantly area could effectively stymie progress in other areas. ICE vehicle fleet in line with the dispersal of the popula- Most obviously, if the infrastructure to support EV use tion and their trip requirements, then this can provide a base factor to be used in the calculation of the future EV is totally inadequate, neither high levels of consumer in- Where to see and download terest, or the availability of competitively priced vehicles charging network and the measurement of infrastructure will compensate for that failing and persuade people to the latest EV Index density parity that will be required. purchase electric. The EV Index is published online at www.sophus3.com/ The better the fit of the charging infrastructure to meet ev_index_current. Each of the three pillars is shown as a traffic light. Green future needs, the higher the contribution of this pillar to indicates a good performance where conditions positive- For more information about the EV Index and digital in- the overall index. ly encourage EV adoption. Orange indicates limitations sights into the car buying journey, please contact Patrick in provision where some of the drivers for adoption are Fuller, Head of Automotive Insight at Sophus3 (patrick. just satisfactory. Red indicates that a set of conditions fuller@sophus3.com). exist that actively discourage consumers from wanting or being able to buy an EV. (Any index scoring below 16% is shown as red, between 16–75% as orange, whilst a value above 75% is shown as green.) As well as providing a commentary on national EV mar- kets, Sophus3 can utilise the same data and methodolo- sophus3.com 19
The EV Index: How ready is the market for electric vehicles? Endnotes ly/2X7rAyr 1 ACEA, http://bit.ly/32GQmXo 12 ‘China new energy vehicle sales drop 34%’, FT.com, 14/10/2019, https://on.ft.com/33mxz4u (paywall) 2 ACEA, http://bit.ly/2NYl6xO 13 ‘Charts of the Year: America loves SUVs’, FT.com, 3 https://climateemergencydeclaration.org/climate-emer- 19/12/2018, https://on.ft.com/2KaDBxY gency-declarations-cover-15-million-citizens/ 14 Source: IHS Automotive 4 https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/transport/vehicles/ cars_en 15 ‘Growing preference for SUVs challenges emissions reductions in passenger car market’, IEA, 15/10/2019, 5 Automakers risk massive fines for CO2 target miss, http://bit.ly/33awKLG analysts say’, Automotive News Europe, 08/04/2019, http://bit.ly/36Pr5O7 16 Handelsblatt, 06/09/2019, http://bit.ly/32vQzh3 6 ‘Charged’, Reuters, 10/01/2019, https://tmsnrt.rs/2Ct- 17 “A harmonised definition of cities and rural areas: the feXR new degree of urbanisation”, Lewis Dijkstra and Hugo Poelman, Directorate-General for Regional and Urban 7 ‘What is a solid-state battery? The benefits explained’, Policy of the European Commission, 2014, http://bit. Wired Magazine, 26/09/207, http://bit.ly/2WKv5gL ly/2qzPE0Y 8 For an explanation of the adoption barriers for new technologies see: ‘Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling Technology Projects to Mainstream Customers’, Geoffrey A. Moore. https://adbl.co/34dCYMb 9 ‘Electric Audi SUV tops Norway’s October car sales’, Reuters, 01/11/2019, https://reut.rs/36UdQLW 10 ‘Norwegian EV Policy’, https://elbil.no/english/norwe- gian-ev-policy/ 11 New Car Registrations October 2019, SMMT, http://bit. sophus3.com 20
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