Auto industry grapples with electric vehicle hurdles

With the rise of online vehicle sales platforms, some may never test drive the car they buy.

This certainly presents a challenge, Krause said. Which is why it’s up to the automotive industry not only to prove what EVs can do, but push for the infrastructure to support them.

“The first thing is getting someone behind the wheel,” Krause said. “The second thing is showing them that solutions exist for them to own this thing.”

Range anxiety remains one of the most common concerns consumers have regarding EVs. For generations, the vehicle has been synonymous with freedom — the ability to go anywhere you want, whenever you want.

Krause said he remembers someone saying they were concerned the range of the electric vehicle would not suit their lifestyle: “What if I want to go Florida at a moment’s notice?” They asked him.

“I was like, when have you ever done that before?”

Still, he said, it’s exactly that kind of question that holds consumers back, realistic or not.

Krause made the leap to EVs a little more than a decade ago. At that time, there were few options for charging, and he remembered making calculated pit stops at camp grounds to ensure that he had a place to recharge the car.

Today, he said, that has changed. Municipalities, states and companies — including Volkswagen — have invested in a charging infrastructure that stretches across the continental U.S., giving EV owners the opportunity to embrace the freedom they expect from their vehicles.

If changes that big can be made in just one decade, the next could be even better for the industry as it pushes toward its goals.

“Just think where we are going to be in another 10 years,” Krause said.