2022 has so far seen a sharp rebound in electric vehicle purchasing that mirrors a general nation-wide trend of new-car-purchases that has grown YoY by nearly 20%.**
While these figures sound like a positive step towards increasing electrical vehicle ownership, there are a number of logistical and economic issues impacting delivery and roll-out of electric vehicles that have been recently ordered in Australia.
A global semiconductor shortage leading to supply chain issues and the Covid pandemic have all affected the electric vehicle market in one way or another.
These challenges aside, 45% of the Australian population would seriously consider buying an electric vehicle in 2022^, a sharp increase since 2018 when that statistic stood at just 21%. A positive indicator, however given 65% of the cars sold in Norway in 2021 were electric (in Australia it was just 2%), there is still room for significant growth in the Australian market.
Experian’s insight tools enable us to take a look at the profile of consumers that are likely to be interested in buying so that we can understand who we should be targeting our advertising towards, ensuring advertising dollars deliver the highest return.
In this article we look at the types of consumer thinking about making an electric vehicle purchase, affordability and the market’s direction of travel.
Who is likely to buy an electric vehicle?
The attitudes and behaviours toward electric vehicles amongst the Australia population were analysed using Experian’s award-winning consumer classification tool, Mosaic. The platform has segmented Australian households into 14 Groups and 51 Types to provide a detailed view on their socio-demographic profiles.
For example, if you’re responsible for advertising a Tesla, Ioniq, Polestar, Nissan Leaf or others brands of EV, you may be interested in understanding the profiles of people with a higher likelihood of buying your cars.
While interest in electric vehicles has grown across all Mosaic groups since 2018. There are three groups in particular that stand out from the rest.
High-net worth individuals (Group A)
Professionally employed with established families around the age of 50-54. This group earns over $208,000 annually and is more likely to own prestigious houses in Australia. Driven by the technological side of electric vehicles, this group is keen to set trends and they aspire to maximise their value of investment with their significant amount of disposable income.
Young, highly educated professionals (Group C)
Highly educated, this group are typically millennials or Gen X couples in their early 30s who are renting around city centres, with fewer financial commitments on mortgages and relatively higher household income ($104,000-$155,999). While living in the city centre means that they do not need to commute to work, this group uses their vehicles for a wide range of activities and enjoy quick getaways on weekends. The long-term cost effectiveness and green credentials of electric vehicles are also appealing.
Millennials (Group G)
Also in their early 30s, this group is known for being social and influential. They are trend-setters, keen to keep up with new technology, and hold an awareness about their carbon footprint. As renters living in central locations with average household income under $33,779, they’re considering an electric vehicle purchase, but affordability is a concern.
Who will buy electric vehicles in the future?
Our insight tools indicate that Millennials, who have made their first home purchase, live over 10km from the city centre and have above average income (Group F) could be a likely candidate.
Aged between 30-34 and with household income between $104,000-$155,999. Group F tend to live in outer suburbs due to affordability considerations. They do have the need to commute to work and are technologically and environmentally savvy.
This group could offer big growth potential for electric vehicle manufacturers as cost of ownership lowers and the number of charging points increases.
What does this mean for automotive brands selling electric vehicles?
- There are clear Groups to market electric vehicles to, today.
- Marketing messages must be attuned to each Group’s aspirations. i.e. Wealthy Early-Adopters would respond to technologically-minded messaging, whereas Millennials are more likely to care more about environmental benefits.
- Affordability is still a big concern for consumers in Australia. Incentives must improve in order to encourage electric vehicle purchase and suppliers must think about the breadth and cost of entry of their vehicle ranges.
If you’re looking to understand your target market in more detail or explore customer profiles similar to your existing customers, please get in touch, today.
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*https://www.carsguide.com.au/ev/advice/how-many-electric-cars-are-there-in-australia-83262