Electric car: range is underestimated – because of the brain

Created: 06/14/2022, 06:07

By: Simon Mones

More and more people are opting for electric cars.

But the brain repeatedly ensures that the range is misjudged in everyday life.

Geneva (Switzerland) – The popularity of electric cars in Germany is increasing.

However, there is still a long way to go before the federal government is aiming for 15 million electric vehicles by 2030, and more and more motorists can imagine a change.

However, the changeover does not always fail due to financial and technological hurdles, we often just stand in our own way.

A study by the University of Geneva has now revealed that there is also a psychological factor that is preventing electromobility from spreading more quickly.

To do this, the researchers surveyed around 900 people from various North American and European countries about electric cars.

The brain tempts us to misjudge the range of electric cars.

(Icon image) © Michael Gstettenbauer/Imago

Electric car: range is underestimated – because of the brain

Among other things, the participants were asked which distances they covered and were asked to estimate how much battery range they needed for this.

The results, which the researchers published in the journal Nature Energy, showed that a large proportion of the range of the electric car was estimated to be lower than it actually is.

This had the effect that many of the participants assumed that the range of the Stromer was not sufficient, although they could easily drive their usual routes purely electrically.

In addition, the brain is more likely to remember rare experiences than everyday activities.

Electric car: Compatibility information reduces doubts

So when you buy a new car, you tend to think about the long holiday drive rather than the way to work or the supermarket.

This leads to the misjudgment that the range of the Stromer is not sufficient, although this is not the case in most cases.

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According to the researchers at the University of Geneva, this cognitive bias could be reduced if compatibility information were provided.

This would make it easier for customers to judge whether an electric car suits them.

As part of the study, concerns were significantly reduced and the willingness to buy increased.

The effect was particularly strong for people who spend a lot of money on a car with a diesel or petrol engine.