(GEVA) According to the 2025 Global EV Driver Survey by the Global EV Alliance, 83% of EV drivers worldwide believe policy measures are needed to boost EV sales in their countries.
The call for policy action is strong across all participating countries. Petter Haugneland, Vice chair of GEVA and assistant secretary general of The Norwegian EV Association, emphasizes the global relevance of the survey findings: “This is a clear message to politicians in every country aiming to electrify road transport and increase EV sales: Policy action is needed to accelerate adoption. Politicians cannot simply lean back and assume the market and the consumers will solve this on its own.”
The results were presented during a webinar on Monday, November 17, which gathered hundreds of participants from every corner of the world, including journalists, policymakers, EV advocates, and enthusiasts. This is the second year that GEVA, together with member organizations, has conducted the survey. More than 26,000 EV drivers from 30 different countries shared their insights on life as EV owners.
All survey results are available here: survey.globalEValliance.com
Charging Remains a Challenge in Many Countries
The survey also highlights key challenges that must be addressed to convince more people to choose an EV when selecting a new vehicle. For example, in Costa Rica, 76% of EV drivers say that charging opportunities along the road are one of the greatest barriers to EV adoption. In Brazil, the figure is 65%, and in India, 74%.
“Even though most EV drivers, by far, charge at home, having a reliable fast-charging network is essential for encouraging people to choose an EV over a fossil-fuel car. Solutions will vary by country, but strong cooperation between private OEMs, consumers, and policymakers is a good place to start,” says Silvia Rojas, GEVA board member and Executive Director of ASOMOVE, the Costa Rican Association of Electric Mobility.
The situation is improving, however. In the 2024 survey, 23% of EV drivers globally cited poor fast-charger coverage as a disadvantage of owning an EV. In this year’s survey, that number has dropped to 18%. “It’s encouraging to see progress, but ensuring good coverage of fast chargers is not a one-time job—it requires continuous improvement,” adds Rojas.
Persistent Myths are a Major Barrier
This year’s survey also provides new insights into how EV myths affect adoption. Globally, 77% of respondents say persistent myths about electric cars are one of the single biggest obstacles to EV uptake in their countries. “Misinformation about EVs is a serious challenge. It can make policymakers less confident that electric vehicles are a viable solution to climate change and local air pollution”, says Joel Levin, chair of GEVA and Director of Plug in America.
One common myth in many countries is that electric cars are a fire hazard. 88% of the EV drivers in the survey say they aren’t worried about their EV being a fire hazard.“Myths clearly don’t affect existing EV drivers, as they know from experience that these myths are false. This highlights the importance of giving EV consumers a voice in the public debate to help counter such misconceptions”, says Levin.
Brand Reputation Matters
A new question in this year’s survey asked: “Are there any car brands you would avoid for political reasons?” Globally, 53% said yes, though responses vary significantly by country. In Denmark, the figure is as high as 71%, while in Brazil, it’s 16%. “In general, we see that in countries where EV adoption is still limited and the range of car options is narrow, brands have less influence on consumer choice,” says Ellen Hiep, member of the GEVA Steering Committee and director of the Dutch Electric Vehicle Drivers Association.
In an open-response question the survey also gives the respondents the possibility to write what brand and/or countries they would avoid for political reasons. Here the majority, 42%, mention Tesla, 12% mentioned China, while 1% mentioned “BYD”. “Results show that while price and vehicle features remain the dominant factors in purchase decisions, brand reputation also influence consumer decisions,” Hiep explains.
Satisfaction is Rising
86% of the EV-drivers say they are very satisfied with owning an EV – up from 82% last year. “Since EV adoption is driven by consumers choosing electric when buying a new car, high satisfaction is critical for early movers – both for EV adoption within corporate fleets as well as for private consumers. It makes it easier to convince others to follow suit, ultimately reducing emissions from road transport and improving local air quality,” says Christian Peter, GEVA’s Chair of Membership and Director of EMC ElektroMobilitätsClub of Austria.
Groundbreaking survey
“Understanding how consumers in different countries have responded to EV adoption including the challenges they face, and what they believe are barriers for others provides a unique insight into EV development worldwide. GEVA is a grassroots organization of EV drivers and this survey is groundbreaking,” says John Henderson, Secretary of the Global EV Alliance and co-founder of the Sunshine Coast EV Association in Canada.
About the survey
Conducted by the Global EV Alliance, the survey targeted EV drivers worldwide through an open online form. The primary distributors of the survey, which was conducted in September and October, were national EV Associations.
To ensure the global results accurately reflect the views of EV drivers, responses have been weighted based on each country’s share of the total EV fleet.
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