With fuel prices continuing to rise and with the increased availability of electric vehicle charging stations, Narrative Research is sharing some eye-popping feedback on just how many Atlantic Canadians are considering getting off the pump for good.
Narrative Research COO, Margaret Chapman says the Halifax based research company sought to understand how interested Atlantic Canadians are in buying an electric vehicle (EV) asking just over 1,500 people in the region last month if they’re considering a vehicle purchase in the next year, and if that purchase would be electric.
Chapman says the specific question on EV purchase intentions was part of a series of questions about views of measures that can be taken to combat climate change.
“We were and remain interested in understanding Atlantic Canadians’ views on climate change — what should be done, by whom, and how urgently,” said Chapman.
She says in its wider set of questions, Narrative Research found unequivocally that people are worried about climate change (with 88 percent expressing concern), and with 86 percent believing urgent action is needed to fight the crisis.
Who should be taking action?
“It’s also clear that people place a high degree of responsibility on businesses to do more to help address climate change,” stated Chapman.
Chapman says that nearly all respondents (87 percent) answered that businesses should be doing more to help address climate change, with half strongly agreeing. The poll also found fewer felt strongly about personally taking action to help address climate change, which Chapman says led Narrative Research to consider if there was a degree of uncertainty about what individuals can do that will actually have an impact.
“This led us to ask if people felt that driving electric vehicles instead of gas or diesel can reduce the impact on climate change,” says Chapman who went on to mention three-quarters of respondents agreed with that statement. “We followed up by asking about whether people were actually considering an electric vehicle.”
Who’s pondering the plug?
Overall, three in ten Atlantic Canadians (29 percent) are considering a new or used vehicle purchase in the next year (including cars, SUVs and trucks), and of those, over four in 10 (42 percent) are considering an electric vehicle.
The likelihood of considering an electric vehicle is highest in Prince Edward Island (48 percent) and Newfoundland and Labrador (48 percent), and lowest in Nova Scotia (35 percent).
Demographically, those between 18 and 34 years of age are more likely to be interested in buying an electric vehicle (67 percent), compared with those aged between 35 and 54 (33 percent) or those 55 or over (43 percent).
It was also noted that interest in purchasing an electric vehicle rose with the level of education and was also higher among those who have a low and medium annual household income.
As for the types of vehicles those polled were still considering, those who stated they were looking to purchase a car or SUV are more likely to buy an electric vehicle (44 percent), as compared with only one-quarter of those who are considering buying a truck (27 percent), which Narrative points out is likely related to the availability of those types of vehicles in the EV marketplace.
Residents considering an electric vehicle were also more likely to be concerned about climate change and believe that driving electric vehicles can help to reduce the impact on climate change.
Chapman herself was surprised that over four in 10 people who are thinking about buying a new vehicle are considering electric because uptake so far has been quite slow. She feels with more people looking into EVs in the near future that interest will likely continue to drive the need for increased access to charging stations and other amenities.
Narrative Research asked a similar series of questions to a national panel about a year ago, with Chapman confirming they will continue to monitor EV purchase intent and feelings around climate change annually, though that may change depending on government announcements.
“If new subsidies are announced, that might prompt us to check in on purchase intentions sooner,” said Chapman.
Tyler Mclean is a reporter with Huddle, an Acadia Broadcasting content partner.
