Federal Government Struggles to Get Americans to Buy EVs: Here’s How Many Are Seriously Considering It

Amid recent a federal push to drive more Americans into purchasing electric vehicles, a new poll suggests that most Americans aren’t sold on the cars.

As of late March 2023, only about 4 percent of all Americans own an electric vehicle, according to a survey published by Gallup last week. Another 12 percent told the pollster that they are “seriously considering” purchasing an EV.

About 43 percent of U.S. adults indicated in the poll that they “might consider” purchasing one in the future. But 41 percent said that they will not.

There are also widespread claims that electric vehicles, which use a large and heavy lithium-ion battery, can address “climate change.” However, the poll found that about 61 percent believe electric vehicles do not do much to address it.

“U.S. adults’ party identification is the greatest differentiator in both their openness to owning EVs and their perceptions of the environmental impact that the use of such vehicles would have,” the pollster also found. About 6 percent of Democrats own an electric vehicle, while 1 percent of Republicans own one.

Some 22 percent of Democrats and 12 percent of independents say they are planning on purchasing an EV, while only 1 percent of Republicans say they are, the poll found. A majority of Democrats, or 54 percent, said they are considering it in the future, while 71 percent of Republicans said they won’t consider owning one.

“While ownership of electric vehicles is on the rise in the U.S., the percentage of Americans who say they own one remains limited at 4 percent,” it said. “Though they are often promoted as a key way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions … the public remains largely unconvinced that the use of EVs accomplishes this aim.”

The findings come as the Biden administration unveiled a plan on April 12 that it wants to impose tougher emissions standards to force automakers into building more EVs by the year 2032. The Environmental Protection Administration, or EPA, has said that at least 60 percent of new passenger vehicles sold across the United States would be electric by 2030 and 67 percent by 2032.

A number of Democrat-controlled states, including California, have issued rules that would phase out the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035, replacing them with electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids.

However, electric vehicles appear to be entirely cost-prohibitive for many