Americans' hesitations for electric vehicles revealed as demand wanes

U.S. consumers' interest in electric vehicles has lost some charge over the past year, according to fresh data that spells out the top reservations Americans have about giving up their gas-powered autos.

Car insurance app company Jerry's 2024 State of the American Driver report released this week found that 41% of respondents said they were interested in buying or leasing an EV as their next vehicle, down from 49% from a year earlier.

The steepest decline was among the youngest drivers, Gen Z, whose interest plummeted from 61% to 41%. Baby boomers' interest in buying an EV was the lowest at 31%. As a whole, 23% of those surveyed said they plan to purchase their first EV within the next three years, down from 25% a year ago.

In the poll of more than 1,200 American drivers, more than half (54%) of car owners who said they were not interested in buying an EV said they would not consider one even if charging the vehicle was as quick and convenient as filling a car with gas. Forty-four percent of those surveyed said they simply prefer a gas-powered car.

When asked to choose between two hypothetical identical vehicles with the same price tag — a hybrid that does not require charging and an EV that does — 83% chose the hybrid. The most frequently cited reason (66%) was the option to use gas, followed by limited EV driving range (57%) and the inconvenience of charging EVs (52%).

Interest in EVs has grown significantly in recent years, with registrations in the U.S. increasing by nearly 547% since 2017. Still, in 2022, EVs made up fewer than 1% of all vehicle registrations in the nation.

Major automakers have begun to acknowledge the concerns over EV demand weakness, as they navigate losses and pull back on investments in the technology.