ELECTRIC VEHICLE OWNERSHIP
CHALLENGE
Consumer uptake of electric vehicles (EV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) is rapidly increasing, and external pressure on manufacturers to develop low-emission vehicles continues to mount.
However, there are still significant barriers to customer adoption of plug-in vehicles and in order to enable customer take-up manufacturers need to understand these barriers and make efforts to remove them.
Our client came to us seeking to uncover customer truths about the experiences and needs of these drivers.
ACTION
To get close to the customer in the most authentic way, we conducted in-car + in-home depth interviews, sharing the experience of EV/PHEV in real-life scenarios.
This allowed us to engage with the emotional and rational aspects of EV ownership, such as usage, charging and future expectations. Our work covered four markets: UK, USA, China and Netherlands.
OUTCOME
Through this qualitative research, we identified four specific customer types, representing the key motivations behind EV ownership. Insights were presented on film, highlighting the pain points of ownership, and the key positives that needed to be communicated to attract future customers.
Our client used these insights to enhance their EV/PHEV strategy, focusing product development plans on the ‘must have’ areas for future customers. Product development refocused to ensure they produced a functional, fast and beautiful EV that remained true to core brand values.