Willingness to switch to EVs fades faster in Europe than US, Shell survey shows
The main obstacle is cost, according to the survey of 15,000 drivers across the world, including Britain, China, Germany and the United States.
"Europe surprised us," said David Bunch, Shell's chief for mobility and convenience. "The single biggest barrier to entry is the cost of the vehicle. Range anxiety is still there but it's diminishing."
Electric vehicles are on average up to 30% more expensive than internal combustion engine cars.
This year, 41% of respondents in Europe said they would consider switching to an electric car compared with 48% last year, while in the United States the number fell three percentage points to 31%, the survey showed.
In terms of the pace at which the charging experience is improving, only about half of European drivers said public charging had improved in the last year, below China's 74% and 80% in the United States.
Only 17% of European drivers asked said public charging offered value for money, compared with 69% in China and 71% in the United States.
Shell runs 75,000 charging points and focuses its EV strategy on fast, on-the-go charging points rather than home-charging. Its core EV markets are China, Britain, Germany, Switzerland, Singapore, the Netherlands and the United States.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Santander's quarterly profit hits record as fees offset weak Mexico and Brazil
MADRID, July 30 (Reuters) - Santander ( opens new tab on Wednesday said its second-quarter net profit rose 7% on the year as higher fees and lower provisions offset a decline in Brazil and Mexico due to currency depreciations. The euro zone's largest bank by market value reported a record fifth consecutive quarterly net profit, reaching 3.43 billion euros ($3.96 billion) in the April to June period, slightly exceeding analysts' expectations of 3.36 billion euros from a Reuters poll. It also announced a new share buyback of 1.7 billion euros set to begin on Thursday, representing around 25% of the group's profit in the first half of 2025. The buyback is part of its previously announced 10 billion euros programme for 2025 and 2026. The bank has benefited in the past from higher interest rates, while growth in key Latin American markets such as Brazil has given it an edge over more Europe-dependent rivals. However, quarterly net profit in Mexico, its fourth-biggest market, fell 6.8% against a backdrop of geopolitical risks stemming from U.S. trade tariffs, particularly in that market, due to the depreciation of the Mexican peso, while net profit in Brazil, its second-biggest market after Spain, fell 16%. A 2.4% rise in fees and a decline of 3.2% in provisions helped lift Santander's return on tangible equity ratio (ROTE), after the impact of additional Tier 1 (AT1) capital instruments, a measure of profitability, to 16.2% in the quarter, compared with 15.8% at the end of March. It said it was on track to meet its target of around 16.5% this year. It said it was also on its path to meet its full-year revenue target of around 62 billion euros, while its core Tier-1 capital ratio rose 10 basis points from the previous quarter to 13% by end-June, at the top end of the bank's operating range of 12% to 13% after achieving the 2025 target ahead of schedule. ($1 = 0.8669 euros)
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Santander's Q2 net profit rises 7% as fees offset lower lending income
MADRID, July 30 (Reuters) - Santander ( opens new tab on Wednesday said its net profit rose 7% year-on-year in the second quarter as higher fees and lower provisions offset a decline at its main retail lending business triggered by lower interest rates. The euro zone biggest lender by market value booked a quarterly record net profit of 3.43 billion euros ($3.96 billion), slightly more than the 3.36 billion euros expected by analysts polled by Reuters. A 2.4% increase of fees compensated a 0.8% lending income decline. Growth in Santander's key Latin American markets has given it an edge over more Europe-dependent rivals but currency depreciations in Mexico and Brazil due to geopolitical risks stemming from U.S. trade tariffs drove net profit down in those two markets. The bank also announced a new share buyback of 1.7 billion euros, equivalent to around 25% of the group's profit in the first half of 2025, that will start on Thursday after obtaining regulatory approval. ($1 = 0.8669 euros)
Reuters
8 hours ago
- Reuters
Exclusive: Shell-led LNG Canada faces problems as it ramps up production, sources say
LONDON/HOUSTON/CALGARY, July 29 (Reuters) - Shell-led (SHEL.L), opens new tab LNG Canada is experiencing technical problems as it ramps up production at its liquefied natural gas plant at Kitimat, with one LNG tanker diverting away from the facility without the superchilled fuel in recent days, according to four sources and LSEG ship tracking data. The plant is the first major LNG export facility in Canada and the first on the west coast of North America, providing direct access to Asia, the world's largest LNG market. The facility is expected to convert about 2 billion cubic feet of gas per day (bcfd) to LNG when fully operational, which market participants have hoped will boost Canadian natural gas prices. Western Canadian natural gas prices remain depressed, however, due to a persistent supply glut that has not yet been drawn down by fresh demand from LNG Canada's July 1 startup. The daily spot price at the Alberta Energy Company (AECO) storage hub closed at $0.22 per mmBtu on Tuesday, compared to the U.S. Henry Hub benchmark price of $3.12, according to LSEG data. LNG Canada, which took almost seven years to be built, has been operating at less than half the capacity of its first plant, also called a train, two of the four sources said. The facility's Train 1 has experienced technical issues with a gas turbine and with a Refrigerant Production Unit (RPU), according to two other industry sources. The sources all spoke on condition of anonymity because the information was not public. In response, a LNG Canada spokesperson said a new-build facility at the joint venture's size and scale may face operational setbacks as it ramps up production and stabilizes. There has been at least one diversion by Shell of an empty LNG vessel to Peru, while other tankers remain close to the facility, LSEG ship tracking data showed. Ferrol Knutsen, a 170,520 cubic meters LNG tanker, was signaling that it was headed to the Kitimat port but then changed directions and is now off the coast of California on its way to Peru, according to LSEG ship tracking data. LNG Canada is a joint venture between Shell, Malaysia's Petronas ( opens new tab, PetroChina ( opens new tab, Japan's Mitsubishi Corp (8058.T), opens new tab and South Korea's KOGAS ( opens new tab. When fully operational, LNG Canada will have a capacity to export 14 million metric tonnes per annum (mtpa), according to company statements. So far the facility has exported four cargoes, including its first shipment on July 1. Another shipment is expected in the coming days, the LNG Canada spokesperson said. The pace of exports from the plant will increase as it moves through early operations and into a steady shipping cadence, the spokesperson said. "In regular operations in Phase 1, we anticipate loading one export cargo from our facility every two days," the spokesperson added.
