Stuttgart, 04.09.2024
EV-Retail-Study 2024
Manufacturers, importers and dealers are not utilising potential – electrical vehicles are not being sold optimally
If there are complaints about poor sales figures for electric cars in Germany, this is not only due to a lack of affordable vehicles, but also to manufacturers and dealers not providing their customers with the right support. Anyone buying an electric car has different needs than someone looking for a combustion engine. So what are retailers doing to cater to buyers’ expectations during the sales process? The EV Retail Study investigated this question for the fifth time and found that car manufacturers, importers and dealers are not utilising the potential.
Anyone looking to buy an electric car today is open to many different brands. The results of the EV Retail Study 2024 by market research company USCALE show that buyers are interested in around six different brands on average. Manufacturers, importers and dealers therefore have a good chance of catching the eye of potential buyers. However, they have to make an effort to convince them and stand up to the competition. It is surprising that car dealers in Germany are still ‘unfamiliar’ with electromobility. Dealers are still not picking up their customers properly or are not meeting their information needs adequately. As a result, EV shoppers do not receive the desired certainty during the purchasing process that is necessary to fully convince them.
The first port of call for prospective buyers is usually the manufacturer’s website. If they do not find what they are looking for here, a visit to the dealership becomes less likely and buyers turn to other brands. The EV Retail study shows that, on average, only 35% of prospective buyers feel encouraged to buy a car of the respective brand when visiting the manufacturer’s website. By comparison, the figure for combustion cars is 71%. And: even after visiting a dealer, only around 40% of buyers have the impression that they are looking for an electric car from the ‘right brand’. After a test drive, the figure is 48%.
In the study, USCALE analysed the customer experience at all stages of the purchase funnel, which buyers go through in the information, purchase and post-purchase phases. In addition to research on manufacturer and dealer websites, this also includes visits to the dealer and brand events, test drives and finally configuration, contract conclusion, handover and aftercare.
Although online car purchases are on the rise, the dealer remains an important point of contact. On average, potential buyers visit the dealerships of at least 2.3 different brands. Even among online buyers, the figure is still just under 2. Dealers therefore have several opportunities to convince customers of the benefits of electric cars and their brand. The opportunities therefore often remain unutilised.
Even retailers can only sell the products they have. In addition to purchasing advice, the products themselves therefore play an important role. When asked why they ultimately did not buy a brand they were originally interested in, dealers are only mentioned in 3% of cases. More relevant are the price, the vehicle technology (charging technology is mentioned most often), the model range and the availability of the desired vehicle.
About the study:
UScale offers the self-commissioned study to vehicle manufacturers and others to improve their products and processes. Between May and June 2024, 4,445 respondents in the German-speaking DACH region were recruited via social media and access panels in the immediate vicinity of EV purchases and surveyed in detail using 95 questions. The survey targeted respondents who were buying an electric car for the first time, but also included shoppers who were looking for an EV repeatedly. For comparison, an additional 409 combustion car buyers were surveyed.
Quote from Dr. Axel Sprenger, Founder and Managing Director of USCALE GmbH:
“The retail process harbours great potential for the acceptance of electrically powered vehicles. If you only tackle this half-heartedly, you will only achieve half-hearted results. Although sales advice on electric cars has improved in recent years, it still lags well behind that of combustion engines. This costs confidence in the new technology and depresses vehicle sales.”
The GERMAN press handout with graphics can be found HERE.
You can find an overview of all course contents HERE.
You can find a picture of Axel Sprenger HERE.
Company Abstract
USCALE is a consulting and market research company for electromobility based in Stuttgart. USCALE’s work is based on customer insights studies on all touchpoints of the e-mobility customer journey. USCALE is the only provider to have a panel specialising in e-mobility with over 10,000 panellists in German-speaking countries. Through its surveys, USCALE makes the customer perspective tangible for managers, developers and service providers in the operational business.
Contact
USCALE GmbH, Silberburgstraße 112, 70176 Stuttgart, kontakt@uscale.digital