As the world shifts towards electrified means of mobility, there’s a widening gender gap. And this, according to UK-based Auto Trader, should be a cause for concern.
Auto Trader’s report on the subject finds that women are buying fewer electric vehicles (EVs) than men due to mistargeted marketing. This is even though women have more disposable wealth and independence than ever.
Knowledge gaps, whether real or perceived, lead to confidence gaps, resulting in not getting onboard the electric journey. Nearly a third of our surveyed women (29 percent) agreed that they “just don’t know enough about electric vehicles” compared to 18 percent of men. Similarly, nearly half of women agreed with the statement, “I find them confusing (e.g. charging, how they work)” compared to just one third of men.
The majority of EV marketing is currently focused on technology, despite just 12 percent of women saying that they prioritize this when buying a car. Instead, the focus should be on safety, an area that 65 percent of female drivers think is important to their new car purchase.
This lack of marketing has led to women feeling misinformed about the practicalities of purchasing an EV. For example, research showed that a quarter of women (25 percent) thought that electric vehicles were more expensive to run than petrol or diesel cars. Even though women were more interested in “what you get for your money.”
The report also identifies that women report higher knowledge gaps around EVs with three of the most prevalent knowledge gaps highlighted as how they drive, how long they take to charge, and their eco credentials.
The report highlights a need for more EV promotion on social media and via friends and family to reach women.
The Digital Marketing Institute, a global marketing certification company, found that 86 percent of women use social media and websites for purchasing advice, yet the majority of EV promotion is currently in car magazines and newspapers. Additionally, when asked about where they do their car research, women (41 percent) were far more likely to select family/friend recommendation than men (29 percent).
For the gender gap to lessen, there are calls for a more tailored approach, so women are targeted where they’re already shopping and alleviate their perceived fears about EVs. This includes focusing on showcasing EVs in a variety of spaces, reducing fear and eliminating risk and leveraging social proof.
Moreover, carmakers should also push for more women to test drive EVs, particularly to show how it can fit their family-oriented lifestyle. Even carmakers report this as the “eureka” moment when women become “converted to EVs.”
Erin Baker, Editorial Director at Auto Trader said: “You'd be forgiven for assuming the advent of electric cars (EVs), with their more lifestyle-oriented stories around sustainable materials, enhanced services, and carbon footprints, would fundamentally change women’s relationship with cars for the better. And yet, as our new data shows, the gender gap is widening...
“Addressing the issues raised in this report should help a large chunk of drivers to feel confident enough to take that leap. Without action, adoption will falter. And more and more drivers will get left behind. Faltering adoption is not good for the automotive industry but it’s also not good for the environment, public health or social equality.”
What an upper piece of crap..... And electric cars ain't the future
ReplyDeleteThat's the problem. Even if we don't think they are, legislators say otherwise. They're closed on finding alternative ways to reduce carbon emissions (i.e. sustainable fuels). They're starting to mandate electric vehicles now.
DeleteNo need to rush to get into electrification. It's still in its infancy. The battery tech still has a lot of room for improvement. Lithium-ion is not the best type of battery for electric cars. Solid-state batteries is said to be the holy grail for BEVs. Unfortunately, it hasn't reached the mass market yet.
ReplyDeleteIt most certainly is, but legislation put a rather tight deadline to shifting to EVs.
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