Only three in 10 Americans said they would consider purchasing an electric vehicle (EV), showing an increased softening in the market despite EV sales continuing to hit record highs, according to new data from Pew Research Center.
This is down about 9% from Pew data in 2023 on EV sales sentiment. Some of the issues driving softening growth in EVs is continued problems with enough EV charging stations and infrastructure as well as the perceived benefits of EVs over gasoline-powered vehicles such as environmental, cost, driving experience and reliability.
Source: Pew ResearchNearly half of those surveyed in Pew’s research said EVs are better for the environment while 20% said they were worse for the environment and another 31% called it the same. The share of Americans who said EVs are better for the environment than gas vehicles declined 20 points since 2021, Pew said.
Price and reliability
The data found that Americans believe there is a bigger up-front investment to buy an EV compared to a gas-powered vehicle. While industry data shows that EVs do cost more, the gap is narrowing, Pew said.
Meanwhile, about half of Americans said EVs are less reliable than gas vehicles, which is up about 16 points from 2021. About 38% said reliability is about the same and 9% said EVs are more reliable.
Infrastructure
One of the major concerns of potential vehicle owners is the limited number of charging stations and infrastructure.
Overall, about 56% of Americans are not too confident or not confident at all that the U.S. will build the necessary infrastructure to support the large number of EVs coming to roads. Another 31% are somewhat confident and only 13% are very confident that infrastructure will be built in time to meet demand.
What it means
While EVs are still growing, that growth is slowing. The data from Pew shows that many of the concerns about EVs are tied to perceptions in the market based on what they are hearing from the news, social media or fellow drivers.
The automotive industry, which is transitioning to nearly all-electric fleets in the next 10 to 15 years, may need to do a better job of convincing the public of the benefits of EVs as well as quickly build more infrastructure for these vehicles, which continue to be a hinderance to growth.
