New survey reveals U.S. multifamily residents are 2.5x more likely to own an EV if they have charging at home

When EV charging is not available at multifamily properties, the percentage of residents who plan to own or drive an EV in the next five years drops from 62% to 25%, according to a survey by SWTCH Energy.

September 4, 2024 – A new survey by SWTCH Energy (SWTCH), a company pioneering electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions for multi-tenant buildings across North America, reveals that access to property-level EV charging has a significant impact on multifamily residents’ decision to own or drive an EV within the next five years. The survey highlights residents’ strong desire for sustainable, eco-conscious lifestyles and how, despite this, the lack of EV charging at urban multifamily properties across the U.S. is hindering their transition to EV ownership.

Conducted in partnership with a third-party research firm, the survey consisted of 1,567 intergenerational consumers who rent or own a non-standalone home (i.e. apartment or condominium residence) in Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Los Angeles, CA; and Miami or Tampa, FL.

The key findings include:

A sustainable lifestyle and EV ownership are top of mind for many multifamily residents.

• Nearly half of residents (47%) find a sustainable, eco-conscious lifestyle to be “very” or “extremely” important to them.
• 66% of residents believe that access to EV charging would benefit residential communities.
• 67% of residents say that having EV charging in their building would make them consider getting an EV.

Beyond the cost of owning/leasing EVs, availability of at-home charging is a significant factor deterring residents from switching to EVs.

• Almost half of non-EV owners/lessees (47.5%) cite high purchase and lease price as a barrier to using an EV.
• 31% of non-EV owners/lessees cite lack of charging in their multifamily building/at home as a barrier to using an EV.
• 82% of non-EV owners/lessees are without EV charging in their buildings.

“This data further shows that at-home EV charging for the over 44 million Americans living in multifamily properties is a critical component to achieving transportation electrification,” said Sofia Berrada, Head of Strategy at SWTCH. “SWTCH has long been focused on expanding EV charging at multifamily properties. Coupled with the declining costs of EVs, we have a unique opportunity to support residents, property owners and operators’ sustainability journey in the most cost-effective way.”

SWTCH is at the forefront of closing EV charging gaps in the critically underserved multifamily market. The company’s turnkey EV charging solutions tackle the main deployment challenges for new and aging multifamily buildings from upfront costs and limited electrical capacity to charger reliability. SWTCH has deployed over 10,000 charging ports across North America.

For more information, or to request a PDF of the complete survey results, please visit this page.

About SWTCH Energy
Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, with offices in Brooklyn and Boston, SWTCH is pioneering EV charging solutions for multifamily, commercial, and workplace properties across North America. SWTCH leverages the latest technology available to help building owners and operators deploy EV charging by tapping into their existing grid infrastructure. Through constant innovation and an extensive partnership network, SWTCH provides the most profitable and unique business model for multi-tenant buildings to stay competitive. For more information, visit www.swtchenergy.com.