Report: Smartphone Users Most Likely to Purchase Electric Vehicles

The Zpryme EV consumer study conducted with 1,046 men and women in the U.S. found a link between smartphone users and potential electric vehicle drivers

The survey showed that while 20.5 percent of the respondents already own a smartphone, 52.9 percent of the respondents believed that using their smartphones apps in the electric vehicle will definitely influence them toward an EV purchase.

These findings that ensure seamless connection of EV telematics and the smartphone brings forth the fact that today’s customer need to be constantly connected and it is vital to the future connectivity of this next generation of autos. Sponsored by Airbiquity, Zpryme’s EV study includes four chapters that explore topics like the consumer, the EV ecosystem, EV market value and segmentation, and EV opportunities, in collaboration with most respected resources in the EV world such as Boston Power, BPL Global, Brammo Motorcycles, CODA Automotive, ECOtality and more.

As per the EV consumer survey, the most popular model was Chevrolet Volt, followed by Ford Focus, Nissan Leaf and Tesla Roadster. According to Zpryme prediction, EV adoption will be driven by three core consumer groups namely “EV Evangelists,” “EV brand loyalists” and “EV sideliners.” Around 64.5 percent of the respondents believe that vehicle price serves to be one of the top reasons to purchase an electric vehicle. While 68.5 percent of the respondents go online to initiate a vehicle purchase, 44.8 percent approach a dealer, 40.3 percent of them take advantage of the Kelly Blue Book and 35.1 percent of them go through consumer reports.

The study showed that for 77.7 percent of the respondents, EV would be the primary choice of vehicle while 22.3 percent of them would make it their secondary choice. While 83.7 percent of them are willing to buy the vehicle, less than half of the respondents are willing to pay a premium. In the areas of EV charging infrastructure market, there is a projected potential growth from 746.3 million in 2011 to $3.95 billion in 2016. Between 2011 and 2016, there is a projected 36.2 percent annual growth in the annual EV/PHEV unit sales with the total EV/PHEV stock bound to reach 730,700 in 2016 in the U.S.