Consumer Interest in EVs Goes Down

­The big news this month is The Battery Show which, in its 14th years, moves to downtown Detroit, with 19,000+ expected attendees, over 1,150 exhibitors, and 235 speakers (including guests from Volkswagen Group of America and LG Energy Solution Vertech).

And while the show will touch on medical, aerospace, commercial, and industrial applications, the main attraction is automotive functions (specifically, EVs) and how batteries can slowly, but surely replace the internal combustion engine.

But that electrical transition has been anything but smooth sailing, with technical issues, pricing hurdles, and a total lack of infrastructure. Though the biggest roadblock to a full-scale electrical takeover is and always has been the consumers, themselves, and their confidence in adopting an entirely new transportation paradigm.

And it’s not looking good. According to the fifth iteration of the EY Mobility Consumer Index (MCI), a global survey of almost 20,000 consumers from 28 countries, the percentage of U.S. consumers intending to purchase an EV as their next vehicle has gone down sharply, from 48% in 2023 to 34% today.

So what’s the culprit? The industry seems to think it’s an issue of education.

"While we've seen substantial increases in interest and purchasing of EVs since 2020, this year's MCI shows dips in demand for the first time," said Steve Patton, of EY Americas. "This decrease is due partly to a lack of consumer education around the long-term value of an EV and maintenance requirements vs. traditional ICE vehicles."

But if we look at MCI’s report, there’s some very real, tangible concerns – like the relative lack of charging stations, and while that concern has gone down year-over-year, it was still an issue for 23% of consumers.

The EVs’ limited range – which also bothered consumers less this year than 2023 – still worried 24% of U.S. car buyers.

Though the biggest culprit in the EV’s overly-gradual adoption may be a bit closer to home – hybrid vehicles – as interest in purchasing hybrids actually went up since last year (while global interest went down).

What’s interesting is that 21% of US consumers say they prefer a “gradual transition from an ICE vehicle to a fully electric vehicle,” since hybrids help bridge the gap between ICE vehicles and EVs at a time when the infrastructure isn’t fully built-out and “range anxiety” is still a thing.

EY Americas chimes in again, with Raman Ram noting that, “With many still hesitant to go all in with EVs, hybrids offer an 'easier-to-swallow' solution: the security of ICE with the advancements of EV technology and performance.”  

So while U.S. consumers are amenable to giving up the internal combustion engine, it might take longer than advocates would like.

PSD