15% of Renters Anticipate Buying an Electric Car in the Next Five Years.

With roughly 6.5M U.S. renters now considering an electric car, multifamily dwellings are quickly adding EV charging to their list of amenities.

When Tesla released their first handful of electric cars, Wall Street and drivers alike were skeptical. With sticker prices hovering between $80-$120K, it was assumed that Tesla, much like Ferrari and Lamborghini, would never make it to the mainstream. Flash forward to 2017, when Tesla sold more than over 137,000 of their affordably priced Model 3 and so far in 2021, they’ve sold over 121,229 of their Model Y, their small SUV and are expected to hit the 150K mark or greater before year end.

In fact, electric vehicle (EV) sales sky rocketed in 2020, with an electric car sold every 15 seconds around the world. While the US lags in electric vehicle sales, electric cars will make up 4% of American sales in 2021, representing more than 1 million units. In Q3’21, sales of electrified vehicles (electric vehicles (EVs), hybrids and plug-in hybrids) – equated to 10.4% of total vehicle sales, an all-time high. (Source: Kelly Blue Book)

Automakers are making EVs a priority.

Today, every automaker in the U.S. and aboard is focusing on their EV pipeline for EVs, and they’re not limiting themselves to small cars either: Ford has an electric F150 in development, GM’s electrified Hummer is hitting the streets this year and Rivian, a new manufacturer solely focused on the ‘adventure market’ just started delivering their full line-up of road-to-terrain vehicles. 

And with Tesla releasing many of their patents, automakers are having to invest in less upfront R&D, allowing for lower sticker prices across the board. The resale market is flourishing too. A used 2012 Leaf can be easily found for under $12,000 - making EVs readily available to everyone.

Despite the early skeptics, EVs are now mainstream and sales are anticipated to grow at a hockey stick rate. A report from the research firm Information Trends predicts that worldwide EV sales will exceed 70 million vehicles by 2032 – just 10 years into the future.

High density sparks demand.

This dramatic growth curve along with increased demand for high-density housing in most major U.S. cities, it’s easy to see why EV charging is an increasingly valuable amenity to multifamily dwellings (MUDs). But the story doesn’t stop there.

In 2016, the U.S. experienced an important shift. A Pew Research Center report shared, nearly 37% (or 43.3 million) of all households were renters, an all-time high since 1965 – the result of increased student debt and sky-rocketing housing prices.

Add to that, millennials are increasingly concerned about global warming and are looking for ways to live more sustainably - no matter if they own or rent.

EVs kills two birds with one stone, so to speak. Electric cars let millennials (and all generations) reduce their overall carbon foot print and help them save money at the same time. Requiring less on-going maintenance (no oil changes) and costing less to run, EVs are quickly becoming a very smart option.

Millions of renters want to drive electric.

Top that off with a study from Multifamily Executive showed that 15% of renters plan to buy an EV within the next five years and of those renters, the majority (58%) stated they would be willing to pay more each month to have on-site charging stations. 

While EV sales are growing exponentially, the availability of public charging stations continues to lag. For every 20 electric cars on the road, there is only 1 commercial charging station available.

While most EV drivers do their primary charging at home, the slow integration of public charging options, has fueled high demand for private charging solutions, and as such, charging is becoming increasingly important to renters.

With 15% of renters - roughly 6.5M people - considering an EV within the next five years, EV charging is becoming critical amenity in rental selection process.

Free stations – Who refuses free money?

So, what’s stopping multifamily dwellings from installing EV charging?

While some are unaware of the increasing demand, the cost of entry also seems to be a barrier.

Typically, a dual-port level 2 networked station runs around $5-10K installed. However, with heaps of state and federal incentives and millions of cash being infused into the U.S. from VW settlement specifically earmarked for infrastructure, there is no better time to invest.

In Hawai’i, for example, Hawai’i Energy and the Ulupono Initiative are partnering to offer a $5,000 for each station installed at multifamily dwellings. And they’re not alone. States and non-profits across the country are offering millions in rebates and incentives to increase the availability of public and private charging options to meet the growing demand.

There is no better time to act then now – multifamily dwellings - whether the be apartments or condos - can now increase their audience appeal and their 'greeness,' and do both more affordably than ever.

With EV car sales rising, the demand is there. And with millions of dollars in state incentives on the table, essentially giving multifamily building owners free money to install EV charging equipment, why would you wait?

To learn more about the incentives available in your state, talk to one of our National Car Charging EV charging experts. Call us at (866) 996-6387 or email us at Info@nationalcarcharging.com. We’re here to help, even if your just starting the research process.

Written by Margaret-Ann Leavitt, VP of Marketing at National Car Charging. 

Margaret-Ann is a strategic marketer with extensive experience in marketing to kids, boomers and passionate sustainability enthusiasts. She's been an avid proponent of electric cars for over seven years and is now driving her 4th electric car. She's a graduate of Colgate University and the University of Miami. Margaret-Ann currently leads marketing at National Car Charging and their sister company Aloha Charge. She lives in Denver, Colorado with her family.

National Car Charging (NCC) is the leading privately-held distributor and installer of electric vehicle (EV) charging equipment in the US and is based here in Denver, Colorado. NCC works with universities, municipalities, developers, multi-family housing providers among a wide range of other business channels to plan and install EV infrastructure for the growing number of electric cars and electric business fleets on the road. NCC currently manages 7000+ charging ports nationwide and has installed stations in over 42 states with their highest concentration of stations (over 20%) in their home state of Colorado.