• News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
  • News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
Sign up Now (For Free)

Sign up for our newsletter and receive the latest automotive news in your inbox!

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing!
News
Read Now
  • All News
  • Automakers
  • Automobiles
  • Auto Shows
  • Business
  • EVs & Environment
  • Guides
  • Lawsuits/Legal
  • Regulatory
  • Ride-Sharing
  • Safety & Recalls
  • Technology
Recent
  • The Rearview Mirror: "A Path Filled With Hardships"
  • Q&A: Volvo CEO Jim Rowan Talks Hitting Targets, Future Vehicles
  • FIA’s Formula E is Changing the Way We Look at Racing
  • Lexus Lifts the Covers Off New, Three-Row TX SUV
  • First Look: 2024 Lexus GX
  • GM Investing $500M in Texas Plant for Gas-Powered SUVs
  • New Battery Chemistry Promises Increased Range, Cell Life
  • Labor Unrest at West Coast Ports Threatens U.S. Automakers
  • Used Car Wholesale Prices Decline; Retail Prices Don't
  • Pandemic Accelerated Auto Dealers’ Shift to Digital-Oriented Sales Process
Editor’s Choice
    Reviews
    Read Now
    • All Reviews
      • Feeder
    • Classic Cars
    • Concept Cars
    • Convertibles
    • Coupes
    • Crossovers/CUVs
    • Diesel
    • Hot hatches
    • Hybrids
    • Luxury Vehicles
    • Minivans
    • Muscle Cars
    • Pickups
    • Sedans
    • Sports Cars
    • Super Cars
    • SUVs
    Recent Reviews
    • A Week With: 2024 Chevrolet Trax Activ
    • A Week With: 2024 GMC Sierra 2500 Denali Ultimate
    • A Week With: 2023 Volkswagen Golf GTI 2.0 SE
    • A Week With: 2023 Kia Niro SX Touring
    • A Week With: 2023 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Estrema Q4
    • A Week With: 2023 Lexus NX 350h Luxury
    • A Week With: 2023 Volkswagen Tiguan SEL R-Line
    • First Drive: 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander
    • A Week With: 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E Premium RWD
    • A Week With: 2023 Electrified GV70 AWD Prestige
    Editor’s Choice
      Guides
      Car Warranty
      • Endurance Warranty Reviews
      • BMW Extended Warranty
      • Extended Warranty For Cars Over 100k Miles
      • Extended Car Warranty Cost
      • Subaru Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Reviews
      • CarShield Cost
      • Aftermarket Car Warranty
      • CARCHEX Warranty Reviews
      • Reputable Extended Car Warranty Companies
      • Used Car Warranty Companies
      • Best Car Warranty
      • Is CarShield A Scam?
      • Mercedes Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Plans
      Insurance
      • How To Identify A Car Insurance Company
      • Geico Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • How Far Back Does A Car Insurance Company Look
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance For Used Cars
      • State Farm Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance From Progressive
      • Dollar A Day Insurance
      • Auto Insurance For SSI Recipients
      • Car Insurance Rates After A Suspended License
      • Auto Insurance For Salvage Vehicles
      • Average Cost of Dodge Ram 1500 Car Insurance
      • Car Insurance Florida
      • Full Coverage Auto Insurance
      • GrubHub Insurance
      • Amazon Delivery Auto Insurance
      Shipping
      • Car Shipping Companies
      • uShip Reviews
      • Auto Shipping From California To Hawaii
      • Montway Auto Transport Reviews
      • Cheap Car Shipping
      • Easy Auto Ship Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Miami
      • Auto Shipping To Alaska
      • Car Shipping Cost
      • Auto Shipping Hawaii
      • Auto Shipping Puerto Rico
      • Sherpa Auto Transport Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Atlanta
      • Auto Shipping Boston
      • Auto Shipping. Chicago
      About
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • Affiliate Disclosure
      • Sitemap
      TheDetroitBureau.com

      More than just “another” place to find news, reviews, spy shots, commentary, features, and guides about the auto industry. TheDetroitBureau doesn’t stop with the press releases or confuse a few lines of opinion with insightful, in-depth reporting.

      Contact Us

      Like what you see? Have some ideas for making The Detroit Bureau.com even better? Let us know, we’d love to hear your voice.

        Media
        Listen Now
        • Headlight News: All Episodes
        More from TheDetroitBureau
        • Guides
        • Latest News
        • Auto Reviews
        • Podcasts
        Headlight News

        TheDetroitBureau.com’s Headlight News offers a look at the past week’s top automotive news stories, as well as what’s coming up in the week ahead. Check out the week’s top story and our latest review…along with a dive into the past with this week in automotive history.

        home > news > Automakers > Consumers Warm to EVs – But Most Aren’t Ready to Plug in Yet

        Consumers Warm to EVs – But Most Aren’t Ready to Plug in Yet

        Seven in 10 say they may buy an EV "at some point," but key obstacles must be addressed.

        Paul A. Eisenstein
        Paul A. Eisenstein , Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
        Dec. 22, 2020
        The lack of a widespread public charging network remains a key obstacle to broad BEV acceptance.

        The coming year will be a big one for EV enthusiasts with a flood of new products, such as the Ford Mustang Mach-E, GMC Hummer and Volkswagen ID.4, charging into showrooms. Although interest is clearly growing, a new Consumer Reports study finds that the vast majority of American motorists aren’t yet ready to plug in.

        On the positive side, fully 78% of the millennials surveyed by the influential magazine said they’re open to buying a battery-electric vehicle, plus seven in 10 U.S. motorists overall showing interest in the technology. But the active phrase is “at some point,” with only a minority among any age group ready to purchase a BEV the next time they’re in the market.

        A variety of obstacles remain in the way of broader acceptance of battery cars and trucks, the survey found. Top of the list, the magazine was told over and over, is a lack of public charging stations. According to federal data, there are now about 25,000 charging facilities in the U.S., but there are more than 150,000 fueling stations across the country, according to the American Petroleum Institute.

        It’s been barely a decade since the first mass market BEV, the Nissan Leaf, was launched. In the subsequent years, automakers began rolling out a number of other offerings, starting with relatively short-range models as the Ford Focus EV, the Mitsubishi i-MiEV and the Volkswagen e-Golf. Now, however, a new generation of products delivering significantly longer range, more features and better performance, are starting to reach showrooms.

        A majority of those in all age groups are open to buying an EV “at some point.”

        (First Drive: Volkswagen ID.4 battery-electric vehicle.)

        At the same time, the CR study found that awareness is rising among consumers. The study found that 98% of Americans are aware of the technology, with nearly 30% saying they knew “quite a bit” or “a lot” about EVs. And, of the 3,392 adults with a valid drivers license, 71% had at least “some interest” in eventually purchasing a battery-powered vehicle. But the figure plunged to just 31% when those motorists were asked if they plan to make it their next vehicle.

        Those numbers, on their own, are up substantially from a few years ago when awareness was minimal. And the increases mirror several factors, such as the increasing number of BEVs coming to market, as well as the constant stream of headlines related to Tesla, the current leader in the battery-car market.

        Tesla itself has been ramping up its product line-up, with four current models and several more, including the Cybertruck pickup and Roadster sports car in development. But the number of new entries from other new entries, such as Lucid and Fisker, as well as established manufacturers like VW, Mercedes-Benz, Ford and Nissan, is escalating even more rapidly. General Motors plans for 20 BEVs by 2023 and last month announced that the figure will rise to 30 by 2025.

        (First Drive: 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E.)

        But this product wave alone doesn’t completely assuage public concerns. Fully half of those surveyed listed the lack of public charging stations as a reason they won’t buy an EV, at least not until some point in the future. While there are plenty of public facilities in some parts of the country, notably California, they are all but completely absent in other regions, such as the Midwest.

        In reality, however, studies have found that even where public chargers are available, 80% of BEV owners still do most or all of their charging at home, according to ChargePoint, one of the nation’s largest public charging providers.

        Ford’s Mustang Mach-E is one among a wave of new EV products coming to market.

        “Drivers are used to plentiful gas stations,” said Chris Harto, senior sustainability policy analyst at Consumer Reports. “Even though our research shows that the typical driver would do as little as six stops at a public charging station per year, a more robust network of fast-charging stations would help alleviate buyers concerns about switching to an electric vehicle.”

        The good news is that the major charging companies, including ChargePoint, Electrify America, EVgo and GreenLots, have plans in place to add tens of thousands of additional outlets this decade.

        And manufacturers are taking steps to address other EV obstacles, increasing range, dropping prices, improving performance and adding more and more product choices in virtually every market segment. There are currently plans to have as many as a dozen different battery-electric pickups on sale by mid-decade, for example. Seven in 10 of the CR study’s respondents said they want more product choices.

        “Everything that’s needed to change consumers’ minds is happening,” Stephanie Brinley, principal analyst with IHS Markit, told TheDetroitBureau.com. “But the big change is that there’s a lot more product coming. And, with more products, consumers are going to see things coming together.”

        President-elect Joe Biden, shown here with his Sec. of Transportation choice Pete Buttigieg, is expected to push for spending to promote EVs.

        If anything, advocates believe that the arrival of so many products will give American motorists the chance to see and experience the benefits of electric vehicles.

        “Consumers can save a lot of money in the long run by switching to an EV,” Harto said. A separate study he authored in October found that when factoring in both energy and maintenance, a battery-electric vehicle costs roughly half as much as a gas-powered model to operate on a per-mile basis.

        (EVs cost far less to operate, finds Consumer Reports study.)

        The incoming Biden administration has indicated plans to bolster EV demand by addressing some of the key obstacles to acceptance. President-elect Joe Biden has called for having 500,000 public chargers in place by 2030, and there appears to be support for expanding current federal incentives for buyers.

        Such moves would garner strong public support, according to the CR study. Six in 10 support broader incentives for buyers – with only 12% opposed. And, noted the magazine in a summary of the study, “Fifty-five percent of U.S. drivers say ‘the federal government should invest money to increase the availability of plug-in electric vehicle charging stations,’ with only 17% opposed to this policy action.”

        While the new Consumer Reports study suggests that the majority of Americans won’t be buying electric in the next few years, it does indicate that sales could grow well beyond the 2% of the market that battery-electric vehicles currently make up, with that number growing to just around 6% when conventional hybrids, plug-in hybrids and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles are included, as well.

        How to Care for Your Car

        Cheap Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice

        Best Extended Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice
        Recently Published

        The Rearview Mirror: “A Path Filled With Hardships”

        Today
        FIA Formula E 2023 Jakarta teams on track REL

        FIA’s Formula E is Changing the Way We Look at Racing

        Yesterday
        2024 Lexus TX - debut front 3-4

        Lexus Lifts the Covers Off New, Three-Row TX SUV

        Yesterday

        Leave a Reply Cancel reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

        Share this article:
        © The Detroit Bureau 2023
        • Guides
        • Privacy Policy
        • Terms of Use
        • Affiliate Disclosure
        • Contact Us
        • Sitemap
        Follow Us: