Study: Nearly Half of Electric Vehicle Owners Want to Return to Normal Cars
By Eric Lendrum
June 21, 2024
A new study shows that almost half of all electric vehicle (EV) owners regret their purchase and want to return to owning a regular, gas-powered car.
According to the Daily Caller, the results of the study by the consulting firm McKinsey and Company reveal that 46% of EV owners in the United States want to purchase a regular vehicle next. They cited numerous issues with their EVs, including affordability and difficulty with the existing charging infrastructure. The same study found that 58% of Americans are more likely to keep their current, gas-powered vehicles for longer, while 44% are likely to postpone any possible switch to an EV.
Similar sentiment has been reflected in other polls. In June, an Associated Press poll saw 46% of respondents say that despite increasing regulations and government-mandated pushes for more EV purchases, they consider themselves unlikely to buy one.
The Biden Administration has claimed that its goal is to see EVs account for 50% of all new car sales by the year 2030. To this end, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rolled out new regulations in March which mandate manufacturers to have at least 56% of their light-duty vehicles be electric by the year 2032. Additional regulations include carbon emission limits and fuel economy standards that will force manufacturers to lean more towards EV production.
Despite the Biden Administration having spent at least $7.5 billion on a nationwide EV charger program, only a small handful of charging stations have been built in the last three years. Billions more have been spent on subsidies for the production and purchase of EVs, but manufacturers are still suffering net losses due to a lack of demand among consumers. In 2023, a Cox Automotive study found that EVs still account for less than 10% of all automobile sales in the United States.