Consumer monitor 2023 : European alternative fuels observatory : EU aggregated report

The European Green Deal aims for a 90% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions for transport by 2050. Different policies are in place to achieve this goal, including standards on CO2 vehicle emissions, public procurement rules, or the recently adopted Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR). Nevertheless, in 2019, the transport sector was responsible for around one-quarter of the EU's total CO2 emissions, 60.6% of which were emitted by passenger cars. The passenger car is still the main transport mode and has continued to increase its share since the year 20004 . Replacing existing fleets with zero-emission vehicles is one of the key measures identified for this purpose. Important efforts have been made to promote electric cars, and therefore, identifying the main hurdles and needs of (potential) battery electric drivers can support the design and implementation of tailored strategies, policies and solutions to stimulate the demand for this type of vehicle. For more than a decade, three main barriers have been identified regarding the mass up-take of passenger battery electric vehicles (BEVs): purchase price, driving range and availability of recharging infrastructure. There have been significant advances: battery costs have dropped by 90%, vehicle range has increased from 100-150 km up to 400+ km, and the recharging infrastructure network is expanding. Nevertheless, BEVs represent only 1.68% of the total passenger cars fleet in the EU, and the recharging infrastructure coverage is still limited in some countries and urban areas5,6 . This report highlights the main findings of the 2023 EAFO Consumer Monitor survey and presents the results for Europe (aggregated for the twelve surveyed countries).