Why Are Consumers Abandoning EVs?
Over 3 million electric vehicles (EVs) are on U.S. roads, yet some owners are experiencing buying remorse about their purchase decisions.
Desire of EVs to Switch Back
A new report on the global EV market highlights a major issue for the electric vehicle sector: 46% of U.S. EV drivers are unhappy with charging and mobility problems. This discontent is so severe that nearly half of these drivers are thinking about returning to gas-powered cars.
This statistic underscores a critical issue in the adoption and retention of electric vehicle users and the issues stretch across these 4 main points:
- Charging Infrastructure Challenges
- Lengthy Charging Times
- Mobility and Range Limitations
- Financial Concerns
Massachusetts’ Slow EV Adoption
The White House has been actively promoting electric vehicle use across the country. Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey’s environmental plan aims to have a million EVs on state roads by the end of the decade. Despite significant investment in new charging stations and other EV initiatives, progress has been slow. As of January 1, only 66,000 EVs were registered in Massachusetts.
“It’s not happening at nearly the pace that we need to meet those goals,” said Christian MilNeil, editor-in-chief of Streetsblog Massachusetts, noting that EV sales in the state are lagging far behind Healey’s targets, with gas-powered vehicle use still trending upward.
Attracting Drivers to EVs
Getting Beacon Hill to push drivers toward EVs might be challenging.
“Lawmakers are much more reluctant to regulate consumers than they are to regulate big businesses like electric power,” MilNeil explained.
Clifford Atiyeh, president of the New England Motor Press Association, offered his perspective on what it would take to encourage more people to switch to EVs. “People aren’t stupid,” he said. “They see their options; they’ve been educated about what cars they want; and right now, electric cars are, by and large, not meeting those needs for single-car families.”
Atiyeh stated that major automakers have stopped their plans to switch to all-EV production, instead emphasizing hybrids and other brands that still use gas. The big question remains: How much longer can we live with the environmental damage caused by internal combustion vehicles while waiting for consumers to fully adopt EVs?
Final Thoughts
The journey toward widespread EV adoption in the U.S. is proving to be more complex than expected which is creating a wave of buying remorse for the consumers. Even with government incentives and environmental benefits, many people are still hesitant. They worry about charging stations and how well the vehicles perform.
Inside Telecom provides you with an extensive list of content covering all aspects of the tech industry. Keep an eye on our Tech sections to stay informed and up-to-date with our daily articles.