WASHINGTON (AP) — Many Americans are still not convinced to switch to an electric vehicle for their next car purchase. High prices and the lack of easy-to-find charging stations are the main sticking points, a up-to-date survey shows.
About 4 in 10 U.S. adults say they are somewhat likely to buy an electric vehicle the next time they buy a car, according to a poll conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute. However, 46% say they are somewhat unlikely or not at all likely to make the purchase.
The poll results, which correspond to an AP-NORC survey from last year, show that President Joe Biden’s plan to dramatically raise electric vehicle sales in the election year is facing resistance among American drivers. Only 13% of U.S. adults say they or someone in their household owns or leases a gasoline hybrid car, and just 9% own or lease an electric vehicle.
Caleb Jud of Cincinnati said he is considering an electric car but might opt for a plug-in hybrid — if he goes electric. While Cincinnati winters aren’t extremely icy, “the thought of being stuck in the driveway with an electric car that doesn’t run is unsettling, and I know that wouldn’t be a problem with a plug-in hybrid,” he said. Freezing temperatures can snail-paced chemical reactions in electric car batteries, leading to loss of power and reduced range.
A up-to-date rule from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires that by 2032, around 56% of all up-to-date cars must be electric, and at least 13% must be plug-in hybrids or other partially electric vehicles. Auto companies are investing billions in factories and battery technology to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles, reduce pollution, combat climate change – and meet the deadline.
Electric cars are a central part of Biden’s climate agenda. The Republicans, led by likely candidate Donald Trump, are making the issue a campaign issue.
Younger people are more likely to consider purchasing an electric vehicle at some point than older adults. More than half of those under 45 say they would be at least “somewhat” likely to consider purchasing an electric vehicle. About 32% of those over 45 are more likely to consider purchasing an electric vehicle, according to the survey.
Yet only 21 percent of U.S. adults say they are “very” or “extremely” likely to buy an electric car as their next car, according to the survey, and 21 percent say it’s fairly likely. Concerns about cost are widespread, as are other practical concerns.
Range anxiety – the idea that electric vehicles won’t go far enough on a single charge and might leave drivers helpless – remains a major reason many Americans don’t buy electric vehicles.
About half of U.S. adults cite range concerns as the main reason for not purchasing an electric vehicle. About 4 in 10 say a main reason against electric vehicles is that charging takes too long or they don’t know of any public charging stations nearby.
Concerns about range are leading some to consider hybrid petrol engines that would allow driving even when the battery is empty. Jud, a 33-year-old operations specialist and politically independent, said a hybrid would be “more than sufficient for my shopping in town, taking my son to school” and other purposes.
With electric vehicle prices falling, cost would not be a factor, Jud said – a minority opinion among respondents. Nearly 6 in 10 adults cite cost as the main reason they would not buy an electric vehicle.
For older adults, price is a bigger issue.
According to Kelley Blue Book, the average price for a up-to-date electric vehicle was $52,314 in February. While that’s a 12.8 percent drop from a year ago, it’s still higher than the average price for all up-to-date vehicles of $47,244, the report said.
Jose Valdez of San Antonio owns three electric cars, including a up-to-date Mustang Mach-E. With a tax credit and other incentives, the snazzy up-to-date car cost about $49,000, Valdez said. He thinks it’s well worth the money.
“People think they cost a fortune, but once they have the experience of driving an electric vehicle, they change their mindset,” says Valdez, a retired government maintenance worker.
The 45-year-old Republican said he doesn’t believe in climate change. “I’m more concerned with saving green money,” he said, adding he loves the electric car’s glossy ride and the fact that he doesn’t have to pay for gas or maintenance. Electric cars have fewer parts than gas-powered cars and are generally less high-priced to maintain. Valdez installed his home charger himself for less than $700 and uses it for all three family cars, the Mustang and two older Ford hybrids.
With a recently purchased converter, he can also charge at a nearby Tesla Supercharger station, Valdez said.
About half of people living in rural areas cite the lack of charging infrastructure as the main reason for not buying an electric vehicle. In urban communities, however, only four in ten do so.
Daphne Boyd of Ocala, Florida, has no interest in owning an electric car. There are few public charging stations near her rural home, “and electric cars don’t make environmental sense,” she says, citing the precious metals that must be mined to make batteries, including in some countries where child labor or other unsafe conditions exist. She also worries that weighty batteries for electric cars will raise tire wear and make the cars less proficient. Experts say extra battery weight can wear out tires, but that proper maintenance and careful driving can extend tire life.
Boyd, a 54-year-old Republican and self-described farmer, said electric vehicles may eventually make economic and environmental sense, but they are “not yet where they need to be” to convince her to buy a car now or in the near future.
Ruth Mitchell, a novelist from Eureka Springs, Arkansas, loves her electric car. “It’s wonderful – quiet, great acceleration, cheap to run. I rave about it on Facebook,” she said.
Mitchell, a 70-year-old Democrat, charges her Chevy Volt hybrid at home but says there are several public charging stations near her house. She’s not looking for a up-to-date car, Mitchell said, but if she buys one, it will be an electric car: “I won’t drive anything else.”
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The AP-NORC poll of 6,265 adults was conducted March 26-April 10, 2024, using a combined sample of interviews from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, designed to be representative of the U.S. population, and interviews from opt-in online panels. The margin of error for all respondents is plus or minus 1.7 percentage points. The AmeriSpeak panel is randomly recruited using address-based sampling methods, and respondents were subsequently interviewed online or by phone.
