The news hasn’t been great for EVs recently.
Multiple reports show them to be difficult to use for a road trip, if not completely useless for that task. The charging times, limited battery ranges, need to plot use of charging stations rather than just stopping at any gas station, all of it makes taking the thing more than a few miles a pain.
Then there’s the fire problem: if an EV happens to catch fire, you better get out and have a few hours to waste while the fire department struggles to put it out and the water struggling to quench the flames carts lithium ion pollution everywhere it washes away to.
And so, with those problems and more in mind, another thing we all know to be true: battery-powered vehicles might look cool and Tesla vehicles go from 0-60 quickly, but if you need to get the job done reliably, a combustion engine vehicle is the way to go and the right decision.
Well, America consumers must have taken all that into account, or at least recognized some of the problems with the souped-up golf carts that are EVs: a recent, devastating (for the EV industry) poll shows that a minuscule 14 percent of the American consumer base would definitely think about getting an EV, as ZeroHedge reports, saying:
A new nationwide survey from Consumer Reports shows that range anxiety and cost are the primary factors holding back consumers from purchasing an electric vehicle. Only 14 pct of respondents said they would definitely buy an EV, not enough to support a vibrant used EV market.
[…]Takeaway: This survey is instructive in that it captures the receptivity to EVs among BOTH new and used car buyers. For the EV market to prove robust and sustainable, it will need to achieve broader adoption to support the EV ecosystem that helps drive resale values and affordable lease rates.
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At present, more than a quarter of Americans are not open to getting an EV, with range anxiety and costs the primary factors holding back consumers. Many Americans are also still unfamiliar with EVs in terms of how they work and the tax incentives available. Spurring more EV adoption will come down to improving the technology (i.e. extending vehicle range), expanding the number of public charging stations, and offering/publicizing financial incentives which help bring down purchase prices.
Americans might be warming up, a little bit, to EVs. But, heading into a recession, the muted enthusiasm from the consumer base is very, very bad news for the industry.
Perhaps EVs will one day be as capable as combustion-powered vehicles and be something that’s useful to have in addition to being cool to look at or speed up in. But, for now, they’re a novelty and little more for people that need a car for more than sort commutes, and Americans in the market for a vehicle seem to recognize that salient truth about EVs, as the devastating (for EVs, not legacy auto manufacturers) consumer opinion survey so obviously shows.