Eco-friendly and electric? What drivers really want

Despite the climate debate and increasing advertising for battery-powered vehicles, when buying a car, Germans rely on the tried and tested. According to buyers' wishes, the average German car is a black petrol engine with air conditioning and seat heating, costs an average of around 38,000 euros - and is a VW. The car owner prefers to buy this average car every 4.5 years as part of a personal consultation at the car dealership. Environmental aspects have not yet been among the most important selection criteria when purchasing a car, according to a survey conducted by Allianz Direct among 800 car owners.

For 49 percent, the purchase price is the most important factor when buying a car. After all, 36 percent value low fuel consumption and good equipment (26 percent). This is followed by safety at 24 percent. Environmental aspects and sustainability play a subordinate role at 14 percent. Even design (18 percent) and choice of model (16 percent) are more important.

The fact that environmental aspects are not among the most important criteria is also shown by the choice of engine: 43 percent would prefer a petrol engine, 26 percent a hybrid vehicle. At 19 percent, the choice is much less common for a car with an electric motor. Women in particular are skeptical about e-variants: while every second person swears by a petrol engine, not even ten percent want to drive an e-model.

Although the generation of 25 to 34-year-olds uses electric or hybrid drives most frequently (more than every second person), the youngest drivers (18 to 24-year-olds) are the least likely at 36 percent. The Allianz study shows that this could be due to the available budget, because the greater the financial leeway when buying a car, the more likely it is that an electric or hybrid car will be bought. However, with a price of 38,000 euros, the range of battery vehicles is also very limited.

Nevertheless, the number of admissions has increased. According to the Federal Motor Transport Authority, 45.8 percent of the approximately 1.2 million new registrations in the first ten months of this year were equipped with alternative drives. Vehicles with purely electric drives have a market share of 14.8 percent. Their share has increased by 21.3 percent. After all, Germany already has the most electric vehicles among the largest markets in Europe, which include Great Britain, France, Italy and Spain. All five have a market share of 12.1 percent of the total registrations of electric vehicles in October. This was the result of a study by the management consultancy EY. "At least in Germany, the sales figures should increase again towards the end of the year," says EY partner Peter Fuss. "The reduction in subsidies from next year is expected to lead to a particularly strong fourth quarter in the electronics segment."

However, battery vehicles will not achieve a significantly higher market share. In addition to Allianz, which states the purchase intentions of 19 percent of those interested in cars, Deutsche Automobil Treuhand (DAT) also carried out a study according to which the acceptance of purely battery-electric vehicles increased slightly from 14 to 17 percent in the twelve months to September 2022. None of the surveys gives great hope for electromobility.

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