A new survey of U.S. consumers finds that half are open to buying an electric vehicle or electric hybrid.
The auto market is navigating a tricky route as car makers including Ford and GM are pulling back on ambitious EV manufacturing plans and Tesla is warning of a slow down, while Hyundai, Kia and others are powering ahead. The Biden administration and state governments including Washington are promoting policies to entice more widespread and rapid EV adoption.
GBK Collective, a marketing research firm with Seattle connections, queried 2,000 Americans to understand their car shopping preferences, looking at existing EV owners and those with combustion engine vehicles.
They found that early EV adopters were drawn to the vehicles for their performance, brand and styling. Only 40% chose the non-fossil fuel cars for environmental reasons. Those newly considering EVs, as well as plug-in hybrid EVs and hybrid electric vehicles, were driven by climate concerns as well as lower operating costs per mile, lower maintenance costs, and less maintenance.
“The next wave of potential electric-powered vehicle buyers are much more mainstream and pragmatic.”
– Jeremy Korst, GBK president
Battery range and charging times remain significant concerns for more than half of consumers considering EVs and hybrids, while those issues ranked much lower for current EV drivers.
And there’s the matter of the purchase price. Current EV owners said their max budget is $59,000, while those considering an EV put that figure at $50,000, and hybrid shoppers landed at $40,000. Those consumers only considering gas-powered cars maxed out at $25,000.
“What we are witnessing is a classic technology adoption curve,” Jeremy Korst, GBK president and a former Microsoft executive, said in a statement.
“The next wave of potential electric-powered vehicle buyers are much more mainstream and pragmatic,” he said. “They aren’t looking to buy an EV just to have an EV — it needs to fit the needs of their ongoing budget and lifestyle needs.”
Washington state has been a leader in the U.S. in EV adoption, showing steady growth over time. The state ranks fourth in EV purchases behind California, Florida and Texas, according to Recurrent, a Seattle startup supporting used EV sales.
The question is whether automakers will gain traction among American shoppers more broadly — 47% of whom say they're only interested in gas-and-diesel engines.
An analysis from BloombergNEF projects in North America this year, automakers will sell 2.1 million EVs — up from 1.6 million EVs in 2023.
EV sales worldwide should surge next year and the year following, BloombergNEF predicts, thanks to more charging infrastructure coming online, battery performance improvements and lower-cost vehicles rolling out.
"All of those trends will continue this year," according to BloombergNEF, "paving the way for further growth in 2025 and 2026, when a slew of cheaper models is set to hit Western markets."
