Top Reason for Buying EV is 'Low Maintenance Cost', Top Reason for Not Buying is 'Lack of Charging Points'

Park24 Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo; President: Koichi Nishikawa) announced the results of a survey on electric vehicles (EVs) conducted among members of its driver membership service "Times Club※".

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Survey Highlights

① EV purchase experience is 3%, over 80% have never considered buying

② Top reason for buying EV is 'low maintenance cost', top reason for not buying is 'lack of charging points'

③ About half of those without EV purchase experience prioritize 'affordable price' as condition for buying

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Park24 announces car and transportation survey results on the 9th of each month. This month's detailed survey results on EVs are as follows.

※Free membership service with no enrollment or annual fees. Points can be accumulated through use of Times Parking, Times Car, Times Car Rental, etc., and member-exclusive services are provided. Membership: 13.65 million (as of end of April 2026).

※This survey targeted those who have used car-related services such as parking lots, car sharing, and rental cars.

① EV purchase experience is 3%, over 80% have never considered buying

Those who 'purchased and still own' an EV accounted for 1%, and 'purchased but have since sold' accounted for 2%, totaling 3% with purchase experience. 81% answered 'never considered buying', indicating that EVs have not yet become a common option when purchasing a car.

② Top reason for buying EV is 'low maintenance cost', top reason for not buying is 'lack of charging points'

Among those who purchased an EV, the top reasons were: 1st 'Maintenance costs are lower than gasoline cars' 55%, 2nd 'Tax incentives' 44%, 3rd 'Environmentally friendly' 40%, showing that economic benefits are emphasized.

When asked why they did not proceed with a purchase despite considering it, 'Lack of EV stations (charging points)' exceeded half (51%), followed by 'High vehicle price' 49%, 'Anxiety about driving range' 42%, 'Difficulty charging at home' 38%. In addition to the charging infrastructure situation, high vehicle prices also appear to be a deterrent.

Reasons for selling an EV after purchase: 'Anxiety about driving range' was highest at 35%, followed by 'Time for replacement' 29%, 'Lack of EV stations' 27%.

③ About half of those without EV purchase experience prioritize 'affordable price' as condition for buying

Among those who have never purchased an EV, asked what conditions would make them consider buying one: 1st 'If the price becomes affordable' 47%, 2nd 'If EV stations increase' 42%, 3rd 'If driving range anxiety disappears' 30%, while 'No intention to buy' also tied for third at 30%. To increase EV purchase intention, in addition to price, improvements in charging infrastructure and practical aspects like driving range and charging time are needed.

This survey revealed that while EVs are valued for low maintenance costs, issues such as charging infrastructure, vehicle price, and driving range anxiety remain barriers to purchase and continued use.

In recent years, EV driving ranges have been increasing, and policies supporting the EV shift are progressing, such as national EV purchase subsidy programs and Tokyo's mandate for EV charging equipment in new buildings. If these environmental improvements alleviate the challenges, EV purchases will likely become easier to consider in the future.

Car sharing service 'Times Car' offers three types of EVs. Not only when considering purchase, but also for those who have never ridden an EV, why not experience the ride and operability of an EV with Times Car?

Survey Overview

Survey targets: Times Club members (Those who joined after March 2, 2025 and have recently used Park24 Group services※) ※Target services: hourly parking, reserved parking, car sharing, rental cars Survey method: Non-disclosed internet survey Survey period: March 2, 2026 to March 10, 2026 Valid responses: 4,752 persons *Survey results may not add up to 100% due to rounding. *If using these survey results in official company materials, please contact us. (Representative phone: 03-3491-8924, excluding media article publication)