Two-Thirds Of Americans Are Interested In Electric Vehicles

Some 66 percent of Americans are interested in electric cars thanks to the generous investment plan of the Biden administration for boosting EV adoption, a survey by marketplace Cars.com has revealed.

The plan envisages spending $174 billion on EV-related initiatives, including building a network of half a million charging stations across the country by 2030.

"Interest in EVs is growing, yet remaining barriers indicate mainstream adoption is still about a decade away," Aaron Bragman, Cars.com's Detroit bureau chief, said in the press release on the survey.

"Today, only 1% of total search share on Cars.com is for EVs. However, the growing lineup of electric pickup trucks and SUVs, plus the current administration's support of the EV market, will continue to accelerate much-needed consumer awareness and could lead to a positive shift in buying habits in the near future."

SUVs seem to be the key to many potential buyers. According to the survey, a fifth of Americans are opting for a gasoline car because it is an SUV, while the SUV lineup in EVs is almost absent. Yet there are several electric SUVs soon to hit markets, including Tesla's Model Y, the Volkswagen ID.4, and the Mustang Mach-E SUV.

The United States was the only big EV market where sales fell last year, Insider reported recently. While global sales surged by 45 percent, it was in Europe and China that the surge occurred. In the U.S., meanwhile, EV registrations fell by 6 percent, according to data from the Munich Mobility Show.

Among the problems that Cars.com's survey respondents identified with EVs were range, which stopped 32 percent of respondents from buying an electric car, and the lack of charging stations, which discouraged another 32 percent from an EV purchase. Yet, the biggest obstacle remains the price, even with the tax incentives that the government offers EV buyers. Some 34 percent of respondents said they wouldn't buy an EV because of the price.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:

• The Best Is Yet To Come For The World’s Hottest Oil Play
  
• Why Iran’s Return To Oil Markets Isn’t A Major Threat
  
• Oil And Gas Bankruptcies Jump Despite Rise In Crude Prices