Sales of EVs in the U.S. and other parts of the world exploded some time ago, and continue to grow to this day – in fact, Ford’s EV sales rose by 64.7 percent in April alone, compared to 5.6 percent for its ICE models. However, as many have pointed out, consumer demand for EVs has fallen a bit behind expected levels of growth as of late, prompting automakers like Ford to dial back their ambitions. In the meantime, numerous studies have found that many Americans have in fact lost interest in EVs, and that’s once again the case with another newly-released study.
This new study comes to us from AAA, which polled 1,152 U.S. adults in early April. It found that 18 percent of those respondents say they’d be “likely” or “very likely” to purchase an EV, which is down from 23 percent one year ago, while 63 percent said they’re “unlikely” or “very unlikely” to consider one – up from 53 percent last year. In terms of why this is the case, respondents noted a lack of charging infrastructure and high costs remain the bigger barriers to EV adoption, though 31 percent indicated that they’re “likely” or “very likely” to consider a hybrid model instead.
“Early adopters who wanted an EV already have one,” said Greg Brannon, director of automotive research at AAA. “The remaining group of people who have yet to adopt EVs consider the practicality, cost, convenience, and ownership experience, and for some, those are big enough hurdles to keep them from making the jump to fully electric. Deciding to make the leap to full electric may feel overwhelming for many consumers, and a hybrid option may be the way to bridge this gap. Consumer demand will ultimately dictate the future, and my prediction is that we will have a mix of EVs, hybrids, and internal combustion vehicles in dealerships and on the roads in the US for many decades ahead.”
This is just the latest study that backs up the notion that demand for EVs has cooled, with previous ones highlighting Ford’s all-electric offerings as less desirable than its rivals, another noting that Americans prefer gas vehicles over EVs and hybrids, and even one that shows Canadians feel more strongly about that topic than their neighbors. As a result, Ford has shifted its focus to highlighting its diverse powertrain offerings while also working to develop cheaper EVs.
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Comments
if you want to get on the bad side of the American driving public try to tell them what they can and cannot drive. All that public money thrown at the car companies had a tendency to blind them into forgetting that.
It’s almost as if some people said this would happen.
Brett, if this is just the U.S., then it is not including the rest of America, which includes the nations from Canada to Chile. Those nations are buying electric vehicles, not just the models from the U.S. but from other nations, including from China.
“Americans” = Citizens of the USA
Interest in Canada is even lower than America… EVs are of no use in the cold!
Can I show you my shocked face?
Electric vehicles have become a political issue in the U.S. Taking a poll of the general public during an election year is going to reflect this.
EVs were grossly over-hyped and grossly are under-performing. But the cynic in me says it was never about actually “going green.” It was about handing out “the green” to politically connected organizations who benefited mightily from the enormous “Inflation Reduction Act’s” Green New Deal freebies. They got their money at taxpayer expense, and that was the real reason behind the push for EVs. With billions sunk into EV charging stations, we’ve actually constructed something like 8 stations nationwide. Even the federal government isn’t THAT incompetent. But they are that corrupt.
Correction, you mean “Working American’s Income Reduction Act”. Thank you.
There are some people that love their Packards , over driving Lincolns . I am driving my 2016 Ford Flex , and loving the response that I get from 287 HP. Put me up against that Explorer , and I’ll still beat it on a start from a stop light ! By the way , if Ford would have bought Packard in 1955 ; they could have said “Asks the man who drives One ” !
Take EV surveys done by AAA with a grain of salt. AAA has a poor track record on the environment.