American consumer interest in buying electric vehicles dipped over the past year due to concerns about charging facilities and high purchase prices, according to a recent study by automotive data and analytics firm J.D. Power.
Among shoppers who said they were “somewhat unlikely” or “very unlikely” to consider buying an EV, 52 percent cited a lack of charging station availability for their rejection. This was an increase of three percentage points over the past year and made vehicle charging the top concern among EV shoppers.
Other reasons for rejecting electric variants include high purchase price, long charging times, limited driving distance per charge, and the inability to charge the vehicle at home or at work.
Earlier, drivers who drove more miles were found to be more likely to consider buying an EV. But in the recent report, the trend has reversed amid falling fuel prices and rising anxiety about charging. Among consumers who commute 46–60 minutes a day each way, only 24 percent said that they were “very likely” to consider an EV for purchase, down 13 percentage points from last year.
The study also found a difference in EV preference based on whether the consumers intended to buy their first or additional car.
Sixty-eight percent of consumers looking to add an extra vehicle to their household said they were “overall likely” to consider getting an EV. In contrast, only 47 percent of shoppers who plan to rely solely on the purchased vehicle for transportation held such a view.
“Without a second vehicle, shoppers tend to be more critical of the logistics related to EV ownership,” J.D. Power stated.
Stewart Stropp, executive director of EV intelligence at J.D. Power, noted that “the main roadblocks to getting consumers behind the wheel of an EV are the continued shortage of affordable vehicles, charging concerns, and a lack of knowledge regarding the EV ownership proposition, including incentives.”
“As understanding of EV incentives rises, so does the likelihood of consideration. However, approximately 40 percent of shoppers say they do not have a solid understanding of such incentives. Prioritizing initiatives and efforts to educate consumers about the EV proposition—including available incentives and how they work—is vital to accelerating market growth.”
Lower gas prices, high interest rates, elevated inflation rates, and limited growth in EV model availability also contributed to waning demand for electric vehicles, J.D. Power stated.
Mr. Stropp noted that several automakers have deferred production and launch plans for EVs, shifting their focus more towards hybrids and plug-in hybrids. As such, many shoppers are unable to find EVs that fulfill their list of requirements.
Transitioning America Toward EVs
The report comes as the Biden administration pushes ahead with its aim to transition America’s vehicle industry toward electrification. In 2021, President Biden outlined a plan to have 50 percent of all new vehicles sold in the United States by 2030 be fully electric or at least plug-in hybrids.
On March 20, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the final pollution standards for passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty vehicles for model years 2027 through 2032 and beyond.
EPA claimed the new standards will avoid over 7 billion tons of carbon emissions and offer nearly $100 billion worth of annual net benefits to society.
“With transportation as the largest source of U.S. climate emissions, these strongest-ever pollution standards for cars solidify America’s leadership in building a clean transportation future and creating good-paying American jobs, all while advancing President Biden’s historic climate agenda,” said EPA Administrator Michael Regan.
Former president Donald Trump has criticized the Biden administration’s EV transition plan.
China is building massive plants in Mexico that will manufacture vehicles with the intention to sell them in the United States while paying no tax at the border, the Republican candidate stated.
President Trump said, “We’re going to put a 100 percent tariff on every single car that comes across the line, and you’re not going to be able to sell those cars if I get elected.”
“It’s the classic—China distorts all the other markets, and then they export their stuff into the United States in those import surges,” Ms. Nazak Nikakhtar, former Assistant Secretary for Industry and Analysis at the Department of Commerce during the Trump administration, said to The Epoch Times.
These regulations “would require an increase in sales of electric vehicles that is far beyond the consumer interest we are experiencing at our dealerships. Despite generous government, manufacturer, and dealer incentives, our customers continue to bypass EVs over concerns about affordability, charging infrastructure, performance in cold weather, and resale value,” they said.
“This EV mandate is not the result of an open Congressional debate. This is unelected Washington bureaucrats dictating what kind of vehicles Americans can buy.”
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