Chinese car shoppers are much more inclined to buy an electric vehicle than their peers in the rest of the world, according to a mobility study German supplier Continental released this week.
Up to 86 percent of car buyers surveyed in China said they would imagine buying an EV, the study found. By contrast, the proportion of respondents with a similar propensity was 28 percent in France and 35 percent in Germany.
Chinese consumers also appear to be much less bothered by EV prices, which are generally higher than conventional vehicles.
Only 20 percent of respondents in China see high EV prices as a deterrent to purchase, as opposed to 46 percent in France and 55 percent in Germany, according to the survey.
By contrast, low availability of charging stations and short driving ranges are cited by 63 percent and 59 percent by the Chinese respondents as the main deterrent for them to buy EVs, respectively.
Meantime, about 60 percent of Chinese consumers surveyed have been shunning public transportation and using carpools less in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
As result, 58 of the respondents have been thinking about purchasing their own cars or have already done so since the outbreak, according to the study.
