I’ve said a few times that this forums membership is not representative of the wider car market, or even the Motability market. We are mostly into our cars (rather than just seeing them as a means of getting from A to B, as is the case with many) and, as far as EVs go, there are a lot of EV enthusiasts on here, some of whom are quite evangelical about them, constantly extolling their virtues and getting very defensive when anyone dares to mention their shortcomings 😂
I wasn’t aware that there had been a high level of EV returns from Motability customers (as reported in this article) but I guess it doesn’t surprise me, as I know a couple of private motorists who made the move to EV and have either switched back to ICE or plan to, and that’s just amongst my family and friends. Motability has around half a million customers, so even a tiny percentage of those customers is a big number in real terms.
I was told some months ago by a dealer principal that they were told at a meeting with Motability that it was concerns over residual values of EVs that was the major factor behind the across the board rise in APs and obviously early returns will be a contributory factor in that.
Those of us who read up on these things are fully aware that EV range can be as much as 30% less than stated, especially during colder months, but the majority of folk who aren’t into cars won’t have a clue about this and it will come as a nasty surprise. Also, those who ordered an EV with no ability to charge at home may have now found that having to rely solely on public chargers is costing them no less, or even more, to run than their previous ICE car, so there’s no upside to offset the hassle of having to make charging stops versus a quick 5 minute fuel stop with an ICE car.
This is why I think it’s a very positive move (and probably not without coincidence) that Motability are now starting to put real world ranges in the individual vehicle descriptions of EVs. It will be far harder to make a case for an early return due to poor range when it’s been flagged before you order (although it still relies on people opening up a drop down box to see the data).