Last summer, after my husband turned 40 and I was staring down the barrel at the same milestone, we made a very expensive impulse buy – a new red Tesla Y. We weren’t looking for a new car, and the one we had would have been fine for years to come, but something about entering the second half of our lives and wanting to do more to reduce our carbon footprint, both pushed us to make a financially impractical, but incredibly fun, midlife crisis purchasing decision.
As millennials start turning 40 in 2021 they may consider an EV instead of the sporty gas guzzlers that used to be taped to the walls of our childhood bedrooms.
A recent survey published by Green Car Reports indicated that 63% of millennials in the Northeastern U.S. were likely to consider an EV compared to 38% of Baby Boomers (the primary EV adopters to date). Considered to be digital natives, millennials value technology that integrates seamlessly with their lifestyle. EVs offer similar conveniences as other smart home devices and provide a ‘fun’ factor that others cars just don’t have.
Millennial women could also break some of the gender differences among EV buyers to date. Women have only made about 30% of the total EV purchases in the U.S even though they tend to purchase more new cars than used ones and influence over 80% of the vehicle purchasing decisions. According to a Forbes article, 62% of new cars in the country are purchased by women, so the buying habits of millennial women will be important for the EV industry moving forward.
One data point suggests strong interest among millennial women. According to information provided by Olivier Pincon from Zappyride, an online EV education website tool used by electric utilities, female millennials (currently aged 24-40) comprise nearly 40% of the women who visit the site.
While there is some uncertainty about how many millennials will be in a position to buy a new car in the coming years due to the economic recession, a CarMax study indicated that about 21% of women and 30% of men would consider buying a midlife crisis vehicle.
I had to laugh when the CarMax study indicated the predominant choice of midlife crisis vehicle for women was a red SUV – exactly what we purchased! Maybe THAT is why Tesla marked up the red paint job by $2,000 and features a red Tesla Y on the website. Very clever indeed.
EV Love 