The Israeli public is willing to buy electric cars, but only if charging stations are available at home and in the workplace, according to a new survey conducted by the National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Resources Ministry.
Titled "Willingness, Obstacles and Motivation Among the Israeli Public on the Matter of Transitioning to an Electric Car," the survey questioned 1,290 drivers.
Nine percent said it was highly possible they would buy an electric car, even under the current conditions. But 87% said they would not purchase an electric car if they could not install a charging station at home; 77.5% responded that aside from at home, they would be happy if charging stations were installed at work.
The survey found that other factors that could persuade the public to buy electric cars would be a charging time of around 30 minutes, a battery that enables travel of 350 kilometers (215 miles) without recharging, and a distribution of easily accessible charging stations.
Unsurprisingly, price was also found to be an important factor, along with expectations of reasonable depreciation and maintenance costs.
The survey revealed a general lack of knowledge on the topic, prompting the ministry to consider launching an awareness-raising campaign about the advantages of electric cars: savings on gas, lower maintenance costs, attractive purchase prices due to tax benefits and long-term warranties on batteries.
The ministry found that Israel's electric car market would gain traction if 4,000 to 8,000 electric cars were added to the roads every year.
Beginning from next year and continuing for three years, the Energy Ministry plans to invest NIS 25 million ($6.9 million) in building the necessary infrastructure to support an electric vehicle industry. This involves constructing 2,000 charging stations in the first stage of a future countrywide charging network.
The ministry is also examining the possibility of requiring new buildings to install electric vehicle charging stations.
