A second national poll in two days has found significant resistance among American consumers to the big switch from gas to electric-powered cars and trucks in their driveways.
Only 4% of people responding to a Gallup survey released Wednesday said they owned an electric vehicle and just 12% said they had seriously considered purchasing an EV. Some 43% said they might consider buying EVs in the future, but 41% of those polled said “unequivocally” that they would not purchase one, the pollster said.
The findings came just one day after a separate poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago found 47% of U.S. drivers said it’s unlikely they would purchase an EV the next time they will buy a car, compared to 41% who said they are somewhat or very likely to do so.
The Biden administration has set a goal for EVs to make up half of all new vehicle sales by 2030 and that Tesla and the country’s traditional big carmakers have all ramped up EV production. The state of California has mandated that all new vehicle sales in the state be zero-emission by the year 2035 and other, mostly blue states are considering similar mandates.
But Gallup said the continuing electric-skepticism of consumers could complicate those plans.
“With four in 10 U.S. adults unwilling to even consider switching from a gas to an electric vehicle, the plans of Biden, California and auto manufacturers could be challenging to achieve,” the company said, noting that one selling point — the EVs’ environmental impact — wasn’t finding many buyers.
The poll found that just four in 10 adults said driving EVs helps address climate change “a great deal” (12%) or “a fair amount” (27%). By comparison, roughly six in 10 said it helps “only a little” (35%) or “not at all” (26%).
“Though they are often promoted as a key way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and address the effects of climate change, the public remains largely unconvinced that the use of EVs accomplishes this aim,” Gallup said.
Electric-powered vehicles remain significantly more expensive than their gas- and diesel-powered rivals, despite the long-term promise of reduced fuel costs for their owners, the company noted.
Among survey respondents who worry a great deal about global warming or climate change, 79% said they currently own an EV, are seriously considering buying one, or would buy one at some point in the future. By contrast, 77% of those polled who said they were not concerned about climate change also said they would never own an EV.
The poll also found that Democrats, adults earning more than $100,000 a year, people aged 35 to 54, college graduates and residents of the West Coast were more likely to favor EVs.
Gallup conducted the randomized national telephone survey of 1,009 adults on March 1-23. The margin of error was plus or minus 4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
The AP-NORC poll, which surveyed 5,408 adults from Jan. 31 to Feb. 15, found resistance to EVs arising largely from their cost and a lack of charging stations.
According to Kelley Blue Book, the average EV currently costs more than $58,000, well above the average cost of less than $46,000 for all vehicles sold in the country. Congress and the Biden administration last year allocated money to build charging stations nationwide and provide tax credits intended to make the vehicles more affordable.
• This story is based in part on wire reports.
• Sean Salai can be reached at ssalai@washingtontimes.com.
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