Why Electric Cars Need Behavioural Science, Not Bigger Batteries!

In this week’s episode Imogen talks to behavioral economics expert Rory Sutherland who explains why understanding human psychology might be more important than building bigger batteries.  Rory, who founded Ogilvy's behavioral science unit, shares brilliant insights on everything from why we need to "solve for anxiety rather than range" to why giving people rail vouchers might increase car usage (yes, really). This episode is packed with counterintuitive ideas that will change how you think about transport, behavior change, and innovation. 00:00 - Introduction  02:04 - What is behavioral economics?  03:08 - Range anxiety: Solving for anxiety, not range  06:32 - Why speeding barely saves time  10:28 - Transport for Humans: The bus information problem  16:51 - Why 95% of EV drivers never go back  22:37 - Network effects and why behavioral change takes time  28:10 - Travel smarter, don't travel faster  33:25 - Better alternatives to EV grants  38:03 - Removing political heat from EVs  39:30 - The Heathrow Pod: Why it's magical and valuable  44:23 - The heat pump vs. air conditioning debate  46:51 - Why test drives should be two weeks, not three days  49:41 - Why psychologists arrive too late to solve problems   Why not come and join us at our next Everything Electric expo: https://everythingelectric.show   Check out our sister channel Everything Electric CARS: https://www.youtube.com/@fullychargedshow   Support our StopBurningStuff campaign: https://www.patreon.com/STOPBurningStuff   Become an Everything Electric Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/fullychargedshow   Become a YouTube member: use JOIN button above   Buy the Fully Charged Guide to Electric Vehicles & Clean Energy : https://buff.ly/2GybGt0   Subscribe for episode alerts and the Everything Electric newsletter: https://fullycharged.show/zap-sign-up/   Visit: https://FullyCharged.Show   Find us on X: https://x.com/Everyth1ngElec   Follow us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/officialeverythingelectric   To partner, exhibit or sponsor at our award-winning expos email: commercial@fullycharged.show   Everything Electric MELBOURNE  - Melbourne Showgrounds 14th, 15th & 16th November 2025 Everything Electric SYDNEY - Sydney Olympic Park 6th, 7th & 8th March 2026 EE NORTH (Harrogate) - 8th & 9th May 2026 EE WEST (Cheltenham) - 12th & 13th June 2026 EE GREATER LONDON (Twickenham) - 11th & 12th Sept 2026