Americans Aren’t Sold on Electric Cars. Biden Wants to Force Automakers to Sell Them Anyway.

Only 19 % Confirm That They’re ‘Very Likely’ to Purchase an EV as Biden Pushes a Rule That Would Make Them Commonplace.

According to a recent poll, less than one-fifth of Americans are likely to buy an electric vehicle for their next car purchase, despite President Joe Biden’s push for a new rule requiring U.S. automakers to sell them. As per a new Associated Press survey, only 19% of people said they are “very” or “extremely” likely to purchase an electric vehicle when buying a new car, while 22% said they are “somewhat likely” to do so. Nearly half of the respondents stated that they are unlikely to buy electric cars due to the high cost associated with them, with electric vehicles costing at least $10,000 more than gasoline-powered vehicles on average.

Despite the public’s reluctance to buy electric cars, Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency is expected to introduce a new environmental rule that will effectively mandate an electric vehicle revolution. The proposed rule will incorporate strict emissions limits on vehicles sold, requiring two-thirds of the vehicles sold by U.S. auto manufacturers to be electric by 2032, according to the New York Times. However, this electrification push will incur much higher costs than the sticker prices of electric vehicles. Experts say that the United States will require the construction of over 2 million charging stations to facilitate an electric vehicle revolution. Although Biden’s 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Act allocated $7.5 billion to build 500k charging stations, widespread EV use will necessitate expensive investments in power grids to support the increase in demand as millions of Americans plug in their vehicles. Based on the state’s utility operator’s data, California alone must dedicate $9.3 billion to prepare its power grid for a shift towards renewable energy.

Despite the challenges, Biden has touted the benefits of his electric vehicle push, promising a manufacturing boom, as well as the creation of new economic opportunities and tens of thousands of well-paying jobs nationwide. Labor leaders, however, say that transitioning to electric vehicles would leave fewer workers needed to build cars, thus reducing employment opportunities in the auto industry.

“We’ve experienced job losses before due to technological changes, but it’s difficult to imagine that we won’t lose jobs at this pace,” said United Auto Workers leader Mike DePaoli in response to Biden’s proposed mandate.