According to a survey conducted by Reuters in Japan, most car buyers would willingly consider an electric car if the price was around $15,000.
The numbers from the survey are in and the makers of EVs will have a long way to go in terms of price cuts before the average buyer will consider an electric vehicle. The survey by Reuters suggests that 40% of respondents believe that a reasonable price for a full speed EV is between $15,000 and $20,800. Additionally, 15% of the respondents claim that they would only be willing to spend up to $15,000.
With more than half of the respondents claiming that they would spend no more than $20,800, EV makers will have a lot of cost cutting ahead of them to hit this target. Both Nissan with their unnamed EV and Mitsubishi with their I-MiEV have price points that eclipse that number by a wide margin. Nissan speculates at a price around $28,000 while Mitsubishi sells theirs for close to $38,000 in Japan.
If prices for EVs don't drop significantly, the survey suggests that some 19% would be willing to spend up to $26,000, still under the range of the two vehicles listed above. For now, EV makers will have to hope that they find buyers willing to spend more than this survey suggests people will spend on EVs.
Source: Asia One Motoring
