Do EVs have an image problem? Continental says yes

Good for Planet Earth? Sure. Fun to drive? Meh. That’s what respondents to a Continental study said when asked about their perspective of electric vehicles.

Americans who believed EVs were environmentally friendly outnumbered those who don’t by about a seven-to-one margin and – slightly funky-looking Nissan Leaf notwithstanding – those who say EVs “look nice” outpaced those who don’t by about a three-to-two margin.

As if we needed proof that not a lot of people have gotten behind the wheel of an EV, there’s just no getting around the perception problem that EVs have when it comes to sheer driving pleasure. Almost two-thirds of the respondents either didn’t think EVs were fun to drive or were neutral about the prospect. And sporty? Forget it. Less than a third of those polled said they thought EVs were sporty. And those not-fun-to-drive results were even more pronounced among Germans who took the survey.

As for intentions of ever owning an EV, those numbers didn’t change much between the most recent poll (taken last year) and a previous version from 2011. Not surprisingly, the younger the respondent, the more likely that person has considered owning an EV. What’s not great is that people’s intention to purchase an EV has gone down. You can take a look at the 29-page study here.

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