Mileage, charging remain NEV buyers' major concerns

Despite the rising popularity of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, mileage and charging anxiety remain headaches for many, especially in the winter.

Around half of the respondents in a recent survey of 4,330 new energy vehicle owners and potential buyers in China said such vehicles' mileage on one charge is shorter and charging takes more time in the winter.

The survey was done by JD Power China and ByteDance's automotive information and service platform Dcar.

Half of the NEV owners said their vehicles' mileage on one charge have never reached the figure the carmakers and auto dealers have promised, according to the survey.

They said the vehicles' mileage will fall sharply when the outside temperature is below 10 degrees Celsius, and vehicle charging will be slower when the temperature is low.

Over 70 percent of EV owners said vehicle charging speed is obviously slow when the temperature is between 10 degrees and minus 9 degrees, and fast-charging is "not fast any more".

Pei Lin, a JD Power customer experience director, said the NEV industry should pay more attention to those concerns.

In the first 11 months this year, sales of electric cars and plug-in hybrids reached 2.99 million units, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Deliveries this year, including both passenger vehicles, buses and trucks, could reach 3.3 million units, said the association.

Their sales are expected to see a record number of 5 million units in 2022, as local carmakers and international brands vie to introduce more models into the market, said Ouyang Minggao, vice-president of Chinese auto think tank EV 100.

lifusheng@chinadaily.com.cn