- The Washington Times - Wednesday, August 31, 2022

Most Americans are still not persuaded to buy electric cars despite the federal government’s multibillion-dollar push to promote the vehicles.

A majority 54% of American adults think electric cars are not practical, compared to 28% who say they are practical for most drivers, found the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey.

Broken down by party affiliation, 66% of Republicans, 46% of Democrats and 51% of unaffiliated voters said electric cars are not practical.

The Department of Transportation intends to spend almost $5 billion over five years to help states create a network of electric vehicle charging stations.

Meanwhile, a whopping 69% of Americans think most cars will likely still run mostly on gasoline a decade from now, including 37% who say it’s “very likely” that gasoline-powered vehicles will still be the norm in 10 years, according to the survey.

Just 23% think that it is unlikely that most cars will still be powered by gasoline in 2032.


SEE ALSO: California asks residents to avoid charging EVs during a Labor Day weekend heat wave


The numbers, which are similar to what the same pollsters found in March, come at a time when California moved forward with plans to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035. Several other Democrat-run states are expected to follow California’s lead.

The regulation on new gas-powered vehicles does not apply to used cars or prohibit using current gas-powered cars.

In Virginia, which by law adopts California fuel-efficiency standards, Gov. Glenn Youngkin has vowed to fight the rule agreed to by his Democratic predecessor.

The Rasmussen survey of 1,000 adults was conducted on Aug. 17-18. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. 

• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.

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