Americans Still Aren't Sold on Electric Cars

February 28, 2023

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by Alexa St. John (Business Insider) - Automakers say they are all in on electric, and spending billions to get there. - But EV adoption is still a challenge; less than one-third of US car buyers said they want to go EV. - Car buyers are weighing a lot of factors like EV resale value and recycling plans.

Only 30% of US consumers are considering going electric for their next car, according to a new study from Deloitte.

That's compared with 63% who said their next car will be an internal combustion engine vehicle and 7% who don't know.

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US consumers are hesitant to go electric for a variety of factors — charging infrastructure developments that lag behind EV-sales forecasts, battery performance uncertainty, and sudden drops in gas-powered vehicle prices are chief among them.

Interestingly, of the US consumers Deloitte surveyed, 74% said they consider a plan for battery recycling and reuse as one factor in their choice of EV brand.

If an automaker doesn't have concrete plans in place for recycling — and many of them don't seem to, yet — that could turn a consumer off to buying an EV from that company.

Car buyers are also weighing resale value, a pretty standard factor to consider, especially before going electric.

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In the US, 61% of buyers are either very or somewhat concerned about an EV's resale value, compared to 55% that are very or somewhat concerned about a gas-powered vehicle's resale value.

The concern over EV resale is "likely due to rapidly evolving EV and battery technologies," according to Deloitte's report. There is more perceived risk exposure for EVs for which there is limited residual value forecasting available.

Meanwhile, the (albeit lower) concern about internal combustion vehicles stems from considering "their planned obsolescence in favor of EV adoption." READ MORE

EV Adoption Still Has a Long Way to Go in the U.S. — Fewer than 50 percent of drivers are considering an EV as their next car. (Jalopnik)

Deloitte: Accelerated Pace of Change Set to Drive the Future of Automotive Mobility (Deloitte/PR Newswire)

Customer service satisfaction of EV owners lower than ICE vehicles - report (Reuters)

EV Maintenance and Ownership Isn't Everything It's Cracked Up to Be -- Customer service satisfaction among EV owners is considerably lower than for owners of ICE cars due to recalls (Jalopnik)

J.D. Power dealer service survey shows EV market leading to overall decline in satisfaction (Automotive News)

Home EV Charging Is Getting Expensive and Confusing: EV owners are less satisfied with their home charging systems. Plus, EV startups are scrambling for cash, and Nissan workers in Tennessee might unionize. (Jalopnik)

Ford expects $3 billion loss on electric car business in 2023 (Washington Post)

Why America’s EV chargers keep breaking (E&E News Climatewire)

47 percent in new poll say it’s unlikely they would buy EV (The Hill)

Automakers Face Test in Reaching U.S. Target for Electric Vehicles: New federal rules are expected to speed the transition to E.V.s, a shift that car companies have embraced but will be challenged to carry out. (New York Times)

4 in 10 U.S. adults say next vehicle may be electric, poll finds (CBS News)

EPA Proposal Would Mandate Automakers to Warranty EV Battery Durability -- Automakers will have to build batteries that retain at least 80% capacity after five years if the EPA gets its way. (The Drive)

A hidden cost of owning an EV? Paying more for insurance. Electric vehicle advocates have argued for years that the lower cost of fuel and maintenance makes battery-powered vehicles cheaper to own than conventional cars. But the cost of insurance could turn into an unforeseen headache. (Politico Pro/Climatewire)

EV charging may ‘cause electromagnetic interference' in cardiac devices: Study (Washington Examiner)

More and more Americans don't want electric cars (Business Insider)

Safety: The Battery Electric Vehicle Blind Spot? (Transport Energy Strategies)

Are EV sales declining? Electrifying the car market may be getting harder. Here's why (USA Today)

Sierra Club Releases Nationwide Investigation into Electric Vehicle Shopping Experience (Sierra Club)

Report: Few Dealerships Have EVs Available and Its a Problem (Green Car Reports)

Sierra Club Survey Says 30% Of US Dealers REFUSE To Sell Electric Cars (Clean Technica)

Excerpt from Jalopnik: The study was done by auditing company Deloitte and conducted on 9,500 consumers in nine countries. It shows that just 30 percent of new car buyers in the U.S. are considering an EV for their next car. People still want gas vehicles though, as 63 percent of buyers say they’re still going for a gas-powered vehicle as their next purchase. Compare those numbers to Europe, where 48 percent of European buyers are considering an EV for their next car and just 36 percent are considering a gas car. READ MORE

Excerpt from Deloitte/PR Newswire: Key takeaways — The future of automotive mobility is being shaped by a variety of tectonic forces converging to shift consumer sentiment and behavior.

One in 3 consumers in the U.S. and nearly half in the Europe5 region (the aggregate region comprised of the following countries: France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) would most prefer their next vehicle be electric, while half of consumers in the U.S. and 61% in the Europe5 region will choose an EV brand based on whether the company has a well-articulated plan for battery recycling.
Over half of survey respondents in the U.S. and Europe5 regions are concerned about taking on the residual value risk of owning a traditional fossil-fueled vehicle going forward.
Nearly 40% of U.S. consumers and half of consumers in the Europe5 region aged 18-34 question whether they need to own a vehicle going forward because of the experiences they had with shared transportation options.
Motivated by a desire to maximize convenience, transparency and flexibility, one-third of consumers in both regions aged 18-34 would move to a subscription model, supported by the fact that half of survey respondents are interested in making one monthly payment that covers all vehicle-related costs, including insurance and maintenance.

Automotive mobility providers, including captive finance companies, are redefining themselves as managers of mobility services in an effort to unlock new sources of revenue and profit going forward. READ MORE

Excerpt from Politico Pro Energywire: Sport utility vehicles now make up more than half the global electric vehicle market, increasing demand for critical minerals, according to the International Energy Agency.

In a commentary released Monday, IEA said the increasing popularity of SUVs raises "concerns about their impact on efforts to tackle climate change." While car sales fell globally in 2022, SUV sales rose by about 3 percent. Overall, the world's 330 million SUVs account for nearly 1 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year, according to the agency. That's more than the CO2 emissions of some countries, such as Germany or Canada.

Monday's commentary also raised concerns about electric SUVs, which accounted for 55 percent of EV sales in 2022, up from 40 percent in 2018.

"Rapidly increasing the number of electric cars on the road in place of conventional cars is a key part of reaching net zero emissions by mid-century," IEA analysts wrote. "At the same time, SUVs require larger batteries to power them, so a growing electric SUV market would impose additional pressure on battery supply chains and further increase demand for the critical minerals needed to make the batteries." READ MORE

Excerpt from Reuters: Recall rates, which are more than double for BEVs than their gas/diesel counterparts, are a leading factor, the report said.

BEV owners' customer service satisfaction was 42 points lower than owners of ICE engines.

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The study shows a decline of 23 points in satisfaction when an owner has to bring their vehicle in for a repair after a recall rather than traditional maintenance and repair.

Since its report in 2021, the consultants have found that owners now have to wait longer for their vehicles to be serviced due to labor, loaner vehicle availability and parts shortages. READ MORE

Excerpt from Automotive News: Overall EV owner customer service satisfaction is 42 points lower than internal combustion vehicle owner satisfaction, the study finds. Recall rates — almost double among EVs — and service adviser knowledge contribute to this lesser satisfaction. READ MORE

Excerpt from The Hill: Nearly half of Americans in a new poll say it’s unlikely they would buy an electric vehicle, citing high prices even as the Biden administration works to up sales of the more environmentally conscious cars.

The poll, from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, found 47 percent of respondents think it’s unlikely they’d go electric.

Nearly a quarter — 22 percent — say it’s somewhat likely that they’d pick electric next time they buy a car, while 19 percent said it’s “very” or “extremely” likely that they do so.

Just 8 percent said they or someone in their household currently owns or leases an electric vehicle. Another 8 percent say they or someone in their household has a plug-in hybrid vehicle. READ MORE

Excerpt from The Dive: The news comes from a new proposed rule from the EPA that would phase in over model years from 2027 to 2032. The federal regulator has recognized that batteries in hybrid vehicles and EVs must be durable to control overall consumption for the life of any car. Electric vehicles may not emit any pollution out on the road, but battery manufacturing can be a significant source of pollution. Thus, automotive traction batteries must be as durable as possible. It comes amid a broader move from the EPA to push automakers toward lowering emissions and building EVs. READ MORE

Excerpt from Business Insider: High purchase price and lack of charging stations were the most-cited reasons for not wanting an EV, followed by limited driving range and time required to charge. Respondents were also concerned about EV performance in extreme temperatures, cost of ownership, lack of repair shops, reliability, and power outages.

Interestingly, it isn't just rigid older folks who are skewing the numbers. While the majority of Boomers and Pre-Boomers aren't considering EVs, 33% of Gen Z shoppers also told JD Power they were either "somewhat unlikely" or "very unlikely" to buy an EV. READ MORE

Excerpt from USA Today: While about 4 in 10 U.S. adults think using EVs helps address climate change “a great deal” (12%) or “a fair amount” (27%), roughly 6 in 10 believe it helps “only a little” (35%) or “not at all” (26%), according to a Gallup poll fielded March 1-23. READ MORE