Many Americans are still not sold on using electricity to buy their next car. High prices and a lack of easy-to-find charging stations are key points, a new poll shows.
About 4 in 10 US adults say they will at least buy an EV when they buy a car, according to a poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, while 46% say they are unlikely or not can buy.
The poll results, which echo an AP-NORC poll from last year, show that President Joe Biden’s election-year plan to dramatically boost EV sales is running into resistance from American drivers. Only 13% of US adults say they or someone in their household owns or leases a gas hybrid car, and only 9% own or lease an electric vehicle.
Caleb Jud of Cincinnati said he is considering an EV, but could end up with a plug-in hybrid – if it goes electric. While Cincinnati winters are not very cold, “thinking about being stuck on the highway with an EV that doesn’t open is worrisome, and I know it won’t be a problem with a plug-in hybrid,” he said. Freezing temperatures can slow chemical reactions in EV batteries, reducing power and reducing driving range.
New rules from the Environmental Protection Agency require about 56% of all new vehicle sales to be electric by 2032, along with at least 13% plug-in hybrids or other electric cars. Auto companies are investing billions in factories and battery technology in an effort to accelerate the switch to EVs to reduce pollution, fight climate change – and meet deadlines.
EVs are a key part of Biden’s climate agenda. The Republican Party led by presumptive nominee Donald Trump turned it into a campaign issue.
Young people are more open to eventually buying an EV than older adults. More than half of 45-year-olds say they are at least “somewhat” considering buying an EV. About 32% of people over the age of 45 are more likely to buy an EV, the poll shows.
But only 21% of US adults said they were “very” or “extremely” likely to buy an EV for their next car, according to the poll, and 21% said it was unlikely. Concerns about cost are widespread, as are other practical issues.
Range anxiety — the idea that EVs can’t go far enough and could leave drivers stranded — continues to be a major reason why many Americans don’t buy electric vehicles.
About half of US adults cite concerns about range as the main reason for not buying an EV. About 4 out of 10 say a big stumbling block to EVs is the long time it takes to charge or not knowing a public charging station is nearby.
Concerns about range have led some to consider gas-engine hybrids, which allow driving even when the battery is depleted. Jud, a 33-year-old operations specialist and political independent, says the hybrid is “more than enough for shopping in town, dropping my son off at school” and other uses.
With EV prices falling, cost won’t be a factor, Jud said — a minority view among those surveyed. Nearly 6 in 10 adults cite cost as the main reason for not buying an EV.
Price is a huge concern among older adults.
The average price for a new EV was $52,314 in February, according to Kelley Blue Book. That’s down by 12.8% from the previous year, but still higher than the average price for all new vehicles of $47,244, the report said.
Jose Valdez of San Antonio has three EVs, including a new Mustang Mach-E. With tax credits and other incentives, the sleek new car costs about $49,000, Valdez said. He thought the money was well worth it.
“People think it costs an arm and a leg, but once they experience (driving) an EV, they have a different mindset,” said Valdez, a retired state maintenance worker.
Quiet ride, less expensive to maintain
The 45-year-old Republican said he does not believe in climate change. “I care more about saving green” dollars, he said, adding that he loves EV’s quiet ride and the fact that he does not have to pay for gas or maintenance. EVs have fewer parts than gas-powered cars and generally cost less to maintain. Valdez installed his own front-end charger for less than $700 and used it for all three family cars, a Mustang and two older Ford hybrids.
With the recently purchased converter, they can also charge at a nearby Tesla supercharger station, Valdez said.
About half of people living in rural areas cite a lack of charging infrastructure as a major factor in not buying an EV, compared to 4 in 10 people living in urban communities.
Daphne Boyd, from Ocala, Florida, has no interest in owning an EV. There are few public chargers near her rural home “and EVs don’t make environmental sense,” she said, citing precious metals that must be mined to make batteries, including in some countries that rely on child labor or unsafe conditions. They also worry that heavy EV batteries increase tire wear and make cars less efficient. Experts say the extra battery weight can wear on the tires but say proper maintenance and careful driving can extend tire life.
Boyd, a 54-year-old Republican and self-described farmer’s wife, said EVs may make economic and environmental sense, but “are nowhere near” enough to convince them to buy them now or in the future. .
Ruth Mitchell, a novelist from Eureka Springs, Arkansas, loves her 2017 Chevy Volt, a plug-in hybrid that can go about 50 miles on battery power before the gas engine takes over. “It’s good – quiet, great pickup, cheap to drive. I rave about it on Facebook,” she said.
Mitchell, a 70-year-old Democrat, charges her car at home but said there are several public chargers near her home if needed. He’s not looking for a new car, Mitchell said, but when he does, it will be electric: “I’ll never drive another one.”
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The AP-NORC poll of 6,265 adults was conducted March 26 through April 10, 2024 using a combined interview sample from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, designed to be representative of the U.S. population, and interviews from online opt-in panels. . The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 1.7 percentage points. The AmeriSpeak panel was randomly recruited using an address-based sampling method, and respondents were then interviewed online or by phone.
