Riding Shotgun With Gen Z EVs As Gen Z’s Next Ride

RIDING SHOTGUN WITH GEN Z: EVS AS GEN Z’S NEXT RIDE

GEN Z WANTS A WORLD WHERE MOBILITY IS NOT ONLY SAFER AND MORE ACCESSIBLE BUT ALSO ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY.

Insights from our Koi Pond* survey show that EVs could be a promising solution towards achieving this vision.

*NinetyEight's Koi Pond is a growing research community with over 700 Gen Zs spanning 39 U.S. states and 27 countries.

Even though the mere thought of being stuck in traffic makes us want to scream, Gen Zs in the U.S. have come to terms with the fact that having a car is basically a non-negotiable for survival. But the gas-guzzling cars we're used to pretty much embody everything we can't stand about driving – the endless traffic jams, the insane cost of gas, and the environmental toll.

Is it crazy to think that electric vehicles might be the silver lining? Yeah, they won’t fix the traffic issue (unless Tesla tunnels become a real thing) but they have other features that, if marketed correctly, could fit into the new mobility movement that’s won the heart of Gen Zs.

DRIVING OURSELVES INSANE

WHAT

CONTRIBUTES TO YOUR STRESS IN DRIVING?

I don't trust other people on the road

I've been in an accident

I don't trust my driving skills

Nothing about driving stresses me out

Other

WHY DON’T YOU WANT A CAR?

Too expensive

Other

Too much responsibility/maintenance

Bad for the environment

Buying process is too complicated

Don’t need it

IF YOU SAY YOU DON’T HATE DRIVING...

you’re either lying or you’re not Gen Z. We want to know who is behind the “your first car is a milestone” propaganda because it's literally not as cool as it's painted out to be.

Obviously, driving and cars isn’t really Gen Z’s forte so if you want a deeper dive into that, check out Gia’s Article on “Gen Z’s Drive To Survive: The Truth About Our Relationship With Cars”. The fact of the matter is, Gen Z needs transportation they can actually feel excited about, or at least not anxious about.

There’s terrible traffic, complicated parking, unhinged road ragers, and people who leave you questioning who gave them a damn license. It feels like we’re playing Russian roulette every time we get behind the wheel.

Anxiety? Yeah, try mixing that with a side of guilt –knowing that we’re not just risking our lives, but also the health of the literal Earth, thanks to all the chemicals our cars spew out. AND to top it all off, the cost of upkeeping a car and gas is INSANE.

GEN Z’S TAKE ON A BETTER WORLD

If you asked Gen Z to paint a picture of their ideal living community, this is what it would look like:

SAFE WALKABLE NEIGHBORHOODS

Being given the liberty to explore and enjoy your day to day life in a place that gives you access to everything you need in walking distance is the dream.

LESS CARS = LESS TRAFFIC

While cars are not the all time enemy, having less of them would mean spending less hours stuck in traffic everyday.

CONNECTED COMMUNITIES

Easy access to friends and family and exploring places outside of your neighborhood? Say less.

To top it all off, communities like this give us an easier way to help our environment! With more hot girl walks and use of public transportation, the large carbon footprint we usually have because of cars and traffic will diminish tremendously.

This is easier said than done. We cannot simply change the infrastructure of our cities overnight and a more efficient public transportation system is further into the future than we’d like to admit.

So, the dream unfortunately remains a dream for Gen Zs in the U.S. As much as we might dislike driving, especially in cities with heavy traffic and crazy amounts of road rage, it is still one of the only solutions we have to get from home to work and enjoy life!

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION ISN'T THE VIBE …YET

Here’s what the Koi Ponders had to say:

“Public

transport in my town (and in this country, to be fair) is inaccessible, unreliable, and probably not safe for solo travel as a 100lb female-presenting person.”

“We

pay so much in taxes and our road infrastructure is a mess. China is around the same size geographically as the U.S. yet in the last two decades or so, they've drastically expanded their public transportation network to span across the country; whereas, our public transportation system has hardly changed in the same time frame.”

“I

currently live in a city with decent public transportation, but to move literally anywhere else and even to get around I have a lot of trouble.”

“I

live in LA so I have to drive everywhere everyday. I need to go to work everyday and to the grocery store and gigs and to visit friends and for my mental health.”

“We

lack a good public transport system and that is bad for a variety of reasons. Sometimes I daydream about all the stuff I would do if instead of driving to work, I could take a train and not have to be on edge the whole time. I could knit or read or something. It's unfortunate that cars are a necessity. “

In a perfect world, public transportation would be a great alternative to driving and Pedro Pascal would be in love with me buuut I don’t foresee either of those happening any time soon.

Traditionally, when we think of “new mobility”, we don’t think about personal transportation like cars. We think of buses, trains, subways, etc. – but the reality of it is that public transportation is not the vibe in the United States. Most Koi Ponders said they simply need their own vehicle to be able to go to work, do groceries, or do literally anything. There were also a couple of concerns regarding the length of commutes, the discomfort people (especially women) feel while being on public transportation, cleanliness, and loss of public space.

So, instead of trying to change the entire transportation system of the nation, we think leaning into a change that is already happening is our best bet.

DRIFTING TOWARDS EVS

HOW MUCH DO YOU SUPPORT EV CARS?

“Why would I be against lessening the amount of pollution in our air?”

“It's better and cleaner for the environment”

“I LOVE HOW MY HYBRID IS SO FUEL EFFICIENT”

“I love electric cars and wish there were more economic and readily available options”

This is where electric vehicles enter the chat. Majority of Gen Z supports EVs because who doesn’t love not paying for gas while saving the earth? EVs have the potential to fulfill the needs of Gen Zs who are hesitant about car ownership but still need access to personal transportation.

For many, jumping from fuel gas vehicles to electric vehicles is too big of a jump, especially if they were just getting the hang of a gas car. With Gen Z’s commitment issues, a hybrid vehicle could be the perfect starting point to dabble in some perks of EVs without having to commit all the way.

WHEN GEN Z IS READY TO BUY A CAR, AN EV ISN’T TOTALLY OUT OF THE QUESTION.

Props to the Gen Zs who have their life together, but the majority of us are still in that “wtf am I doing with my life?” phase where buying a car isn’t at the top of our worries. Even though Gen Zs aren’t in the position to spontaneously walk into a dealership and buy a new vehicle, saving up for an EV is something that has become increasingly more attainable. I mean Tesla prices for the Model 3 and Model Y have been continuously dropping. It’s also known that in the long-run EVs end up saving a ton of gas money and many maintenance costs, making EVs a smart financial choice.

THE LESSER EVIL

Although the sentiment towards EVs is overall positive, they won’t win over skeptical Gen Zs that easily.

“I don’t LOVE teslas because I think they are very cheaply made. Structural problems and

problems are constantly being talked

those cars. Electric cars are

they aren’t well put together.”

system

about within

wonderful but not if

“I think it's a bad solution for the environmental problems cars pose. Most house's electricity runs off fossil fuels, so we're not actually cutting down on fossil fuel use by charging our cars instead of getting gas. They also are still single person vehicles exerting carbon emissions like any other car, as opposed to public transport. I know very little about the manufacturing or lifespan of EVs, but I've heard it's not really sustainable either.”

While some supported the use of EVs, many speculated that certain companies weren’t investing enough time and money to solve structural and systemic issues.

The interest, although slightly questioned, is there. So, the question becomes:

HOW CAN ELECTRIC VEHICLE COMPANIES WIN OVER THE POCKETS OF GEN Z?

It starts by understanding the wants and needs of Gen Z to create the future of mobility that improves the daily lives of our generation and put it into action. There’s nothing Gen Z hates more than a brand that’s all talk. Car brands need intentional design and marketing that adapt and address Gen Z’s anxieties associated with traditional car ownership.

WHAT DOES THIS LOOK LIKE?

SAFETY CHECK

WHICH COMMON CAR BRAND DO YOU LIKE THE BEST?

WHICH CAR BRAND DO YOU THINK IS THE SAFEST?

One of the #1 problems Gen Z is facing with driving is the fact that it’s scary af. Some people don’t trust others on the road and others (like myself) don’t trust ourselves on the road. So if we’re actively putting our lives in danger, might as well feel like we have some shot at survival, right?

Did you notice the top two car brands that Gen Z likes best are also the ones they think of as the safest? Coincidence? I think not.

SMASHED & PASSED

We’re talking about the generation who sits watching video simulations of different cars crashing into a wall to see which has the safest build. Let’s not forget when the Ford Bronco was trending on TikTok because it got absolutely smashed in a crash simulator and the comment section was flooded with things like “time to look for a new dream car.” Safety influences us big time because as much as we joke about hating our lives and saying the world is ending, we’d still like to live some more years.

WE WANT THE RECEIPTS

WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN A CAR?

1. Comfort

Affordability

2.

3. Safety features/ Visibility

Ease of driving/ Driving feel

6. Size/Space

7. Aesthetics/looks

8. Brand

9. Connectivity / technology

10.Power

5.

4. Fuel consumption

It’s no surprise that the number one thing Gen Z is looking for in a car is affordability. Gen Z might not be in the position to invest in an EV right now, but when the time is right, there’s no doubt that many will be opting for the gas-less ride.

That doesn’t mean that brands should wait a few years to start marketing towards Gen Z, they should start building that relationship now. We’re seeing companies getting so caught up in advertising that “EVs are electric” that they forget to talk about other important features that Gen Z would actually appreciate.

Safety is a feature EVs will especially have to focus on. Not just because it’s ranked towards the top of Gen Z’s important features list, but also because it is one of the aspects of EVs that Gen Z is still unsure about. How can you show that EVs are safe? Here are some examples:

Show us your car getting smashed (and surviving). It would be a great hit (haha).

Tell us what aspects of the technology in your care makes it SAFE. Oh, your blind spot camera quality is spectacular? Bomb. You have an alarm that goes off when you’re approaching a vehicle at a fast speed? Love it.

Ease some of our anxieties about electric vehicles. Is the battery going to explode one day?

After the movie “Leave The World Behind” showed Teslas crashing into each other in masses it left people with many worries like: What if EVs get hacked and suddenly my car has a brain of its own? What if the world runs out of energy? And what did Tesla say in response? Nothing at all.

WE. NEED. ANSWERS.

Your job as a car brand is to ease these worries. And whoever feeds us the answers is who we’ll buy into.

Gen Z consistently expresses desire for companies that prioritize reliability - we’re looking for cars with long lifespans. The opinions we have about most car companies are solidified through time. The more time we spend with a car, the more likely we are to have good opinions of it – assuming, of course, our experience was positive.

But EVs haven’t been around for that long. Gen Zs can’t say they love an EV because their grandparent had one or even their parents. EVs currently don’t have the advantage of the test of time or the seal of approval from the people Gen Z often resorts to first for grown-up advice.

EVs are the new kid on the block and companies can no longer rely on their legacy names to gain trust. Now, companies have to show and prove the reliability of their electric vehicles.

“My family has always had ford cars since I was young. They’re built to last and usually reliable. They have a wide range of vehicles which makes it easy to switch to something else while keeping it a ford vehicle.”

“The car I drove through high school and college was a '97 volvo. It kept me safe in a wreck where I was badly rear ended and I appreciate how safe their cars are. My dream car is a Wrangler but honestly, if I was being totally practical, I'd choose a Volvo every time. Secondary shoutout to Subaru for similar reasons.”

MAINTENANCE ✍ MATTERS ✍

WHY DON’T YOU WANT A CAR?

Bad for the environment

Buying process is too complicated

Don't need it

50% of survey respondents said they didn’t want a car because it was too much responsibility/maintenance. How can EVs leverage this?

A common joke in the girly community is not knowing we have to do regular oil changes in our cars, which is not a thing for EVs. I have yet to see any EV brand leverage this small detail but big topic of conversation. Imagine running a whole campaign talking about EVs simplifying the driving experience for the girlies. Not only targeting women who are often not targeted in the auto sector, but also showing you’re in on the conversation.

ITS NOT GIVING

Gen Z wants substance. Car brands need to prove to Gen Zs that they are safe, reliable, and will overall improve their life. Be like the Stanley that was the only item to survive a car fire, with ice still in it. Do you think anyone is questioning Stanley’s double-wall vacuum insulation quality after that? We innovated with EVs, now let's innovate with the way we market them.

Bottom line, auto marketing is BORING and all fluff. Every car brand markets the same way: with slo-mo shots of the car going through water or a dad playing a tune and looking at his daughter through the rearview mirror. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel here but come on give us SOMETHING.

EVOLVING TRANSPORTATION

EVs have a unique advantage over other vehicles in Gen Z’s perception – they have the potential to take up space in the new mobility movement by bridging the gap between the dream of an unattainable public transportation system and the reality of needing to participate in car culture.

Gen Z is very open to the idea of someday owning an electric vehicle, and in three light-years when we’ve saved the money to do so, the brands who start building that brand affinity TODAY will stand out. Because it’s such a high ticket purchase (literally the 2nd most expensive thing to a house for us), Gen Zs are heavily in their practical minds when thinking about cars. We literally don't care about our emotions while driving, we're out here praying we make it to the destination.

If you want to get emotional, make EVs and your car brand a part of building Gen Z’s dream world: one where our communities are connected, there’s free movement for everyone, and an equal level of safety regardless of your transportation of choice.

STEER YOUR BRAND TO SUCCESS WITH GEN Z INSIGHTS FROM NINETYEIGHT

Email “koi pond study” to gia@ninetyeightla.com for more info about our research and strategy services.