u.s. consumer resistance to ev's...
u.s. consumer resistance to ev's...
you may disagree with them, but the majority of americans don't want an ev.
By Kate Morgan
Americans have specific expectations for their cars. Do EVs need to evolve to meet their demands – or are consumers' perceptions miscalibrated?
While electric vehicle sales in the United States are rising, demand has slowed. According to a July 2023 Pew Research Center survey, half of Americans say they're unlikely to consider an EV, and 13% are sure they don't want one. In fact, according to the report, the share of the public interested in purchasing an EV is down 4% from May 2022.
Analysts point to affordability issues and lack of confidence in charging infrastructure as the main drivers, but car manufacturers also face another challenge to convince consumers to ditch the combustion engine: US drivers don't believe a new electric auto could be a wholesale replacement for their current car.
It's not that Americans are opposed to EVs, per se – it's rather that an overwhelming swath of consumers want EVs that can take them as far on a single charge as they can get on a tank of gas. And in a country where the top-selling vehicles are pickup trucks and large SUVs, buyers are less likely to downsize to go electric.
Right now, says Chris Hopson, a principal analyst at S&P Global Mobility, for most consumers switching to an EV would mean a change of lifestyle. It's a switch many seem unwilling to make. "Beyond affordability, the next thing is, 'I want my lifestyle not to change because of my vehicle'," he says.
A demand for road-trip readiness
Driving range is among the biggest sticking points Americans cite for their EV-buying hesitancy: a May 2023 Bloomberg survey showed American drivers want their EV to go at least 300 miles (482km) on a single charge, and fewer than 10% would settle for a car that couldn't go at least 200 miles (322km).
While EV range has more than doubled since the first vehicles were introduced over a decade ago, most have not hit that 300 miles benchmark. And even EVs that tout a possible range above 250 miles (402km) may not actually get that far in practice. Things like using heat or air conditioning, driving in rain or into a headwind, driving at higher speeds or sitting in stop-and-go traffic can all considerably reduce that range.
The fixation on mileage may be misplaced, however, given Americans don't actually tend to go all that far when they get behind the wheel. A 2022 study from the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics showed more than half of all daily trips – by any mode of transportation – were fewer than 3 miles (4.8km). In fact, only 2% were longer than 50 miles (80.4km).
Perhaps the idea of the open road is too strong to compel drivers to settle: even if most travel is just around town, Americans want to know they could set out on an epic road trip if they wanted.
Hopson also points to lack of consumer confidence in charging. Charger infrastructure and dependability has lagged, and Hopson says Americans would rather know their vehicle can do several hundred miles at a time than risk being stranded.
"If you don't have home charging," he says, "there's issues around road trips, and how to charge, where to charge or when to charge." Buyers may simply be waiting, he says, "for the next generation of batteries that are all quick-charging", or for charging infrastructure that guarantees a working charger at least every 200 miles or so.
A recent S&P analysis showed that among people who do make the switch to an EV, some feel considerable disappointment. The survey – which did not include the drivers of Telsas, which dominate the market *– showed nearly half of households who own a non-Tesla EV decide to buy a gas-powered car next.
Bigger's still better
On Car and Driver's 2022 list of the best-selling vehicles in the United States, half of the top ten – including spots one and two – were large pick-up trucks. The popularity of trucks and large SUVs has remained steady in the United States, and EV options in those segments remain limited. The ones that have hit the market have come with some considerable drawbacks.
"They've created [some] electric vehicles and said, 'you can do 350 miles in this, you can go off-roading, it's as big a vehicle as you want and you can fit this many people in it'," says Hopson. "The technology is a wonderment, but the engineering means the battery has to be this big, it has to weigh this much and the cost is this much. The reality is they're just guzzling in a different way, from an energy perspective."
The most noable example of this may be GM's reissue of the Hummer, a large SUV that was discontinued in its combustion-engine iteration, in 2010. The new EV version, which claims a range up to 381 miles (613km), weighs nearly 10,000lbs (4,539kg). The battery alone weighs as much as an entire Toyota Corolla.
Between the lithium needed to power the battery and the energy grid use to charge it, non-profit research group American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy found that the Hummer EV emits as much or more greenhouse gas as a standard-sized sedan.
While other larger EVs, like Ford's F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck, showed early promise and popularity, sales have slowed to a crawl as consumers find that using an EV truck the way they use a gas or diesel-powered one – towing, for instance – can cut the truck's range by a third or more.
Many Americans are simply waiting for a better EV option in the truck or vehicle category, or perhaps waiting for a certain manufacturer to release an EV version of a specific model, says Russell Hensley, co-lead of the Center for Future Mobility in the Americas at consulting firm McKinsey & Company. "You haven't got the full suite of vehicle choice at this point," he says. And in the meantime, a big "percentage are thinking, well, we'll just take one more internal combustion engine before we pivot".
A wave of change on the horizon
Whether or not cars that check Americans' boxes eventually enter the market, adoption will eventually rise, says Hensley, and EVs will take over. The wave of change is coming, he says, and generational differences when it comes to embracing that wave are unignorable.
In a recent McKinsey and Co survey, millennials – respondents between the ages of 25 and 40 – said they were three times as likely as Baby Boomers (people older than 56) to switch car brands for something that offered better connectivity, and seven-times as likely to switch for better autonomous driving features.
Essentially, says Hensley, the results speak to Baby Boomers' resistance to change, and unwillingness to let brand new technology alter their lifestyle, especially compared to younger people. "I think there is a fundamental difference there just in terms of expectations out of a vehicle," he says.
Younger consumers, on the other hand, are more open to a paradigm shift in the way they think about driving. In other words, they might not expect an EV to do everything a gas-powered car can do. They might be open, instead, to shaping their lives around the tech, rather than expecting the tech to fit their existing lifestyle.
"Right now, the people who can most easily go out and buy an EV," says Hensley, referring to the Baby Boomers, who currently control 70% of the disposable income in the US, "are the ones with the least willingness to change".
Of course, that won't always be the case. As the buying power of millennials and younger generations grows, EV market share will too, he says. The big unanswered question, he adds, is whether it's really the cars that need to evolve in the meantime, or Americans' expectations.
"Let's say you get to the point where you can have all the attributes that you've had historically with an internal combustion engine," he says. "The question becomes more whether you actually need them, or whether you begin to change your behaviour."
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article...-evs-all-wrong
Why US drivers may be thinking about EVs all wrong
6th December 2023, 07:00 ESTBy Kate Morgan
Americans have specific expectations for their cars. Do EVs need to evolve to meet their demands – or are consumers' perceptions miscalibrated?
While electric vehicle sales in the United States are rising, demand has slowed. According to a July 2023 Pew Research Center survey, half of Americans say they're unlikely to consider an EV, and 13% are sure they don't want one. In fact, according to the report, the share of the public interested in purchasing an EV is down 4% from May 2022.
Analysts point to affordability issues and lack of confidence in charging infrastructure as the main drivers, but car manufacturers also face another challenge to convince consumers to ditch the combustion engine: US drivers don't believe a new electric auto could be a wholesale replacement for their current car.
It's not that Americans are opposed to EVs, per se – it's rather that an overwhelming swath of consumers want EVs that can take them as far on a single charge as they can get on a tank of gas. And in a country where the top-selling vehicles are pickup trucks and large SUVs, buyers are less likely to downsize to go electric.
Right now, says Chris Hopson, a principal analyst at S&P Global Mobility, for most consumers switching to an EV would mean a change of lifestyle. It's a switch many seem unwilling to make. "Beyond affordability, the next thing is, 'I want my lifestyle not to change because of my vehicle'," he says.
A demand for road-trip readiness
Driving range is among the biggest sticking points Americans cite for their EV-buying hesitancy: a May 2023 Bloomberg survey showed American drivers want their EV to go at least 300 miles (482km) on a single charge, and fewer than 10% would settle for a car that couldn't go at least 200 miles (322km).
While EV range has more than doubled since the first vehicles were introduced over a decade ago, most have not hit that 300 miles benchmark. And even EVs that tout a possible range above 250 miles (402km) may not actually get that far in practice. Things like using heat or air conditioning, driving in rain or into a headwind, driving at higher speeds or sitting in stop-and-go traffic can all considerably reduce that range.
The fixation on mileage may be misplaced, however, given Americans don't actually tend to go all that far when they get behind the wheel. A 2022 study from the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics showed more than half of all daily trips – by any mode of transportation – were fewer than 3 miles (4.8km). In fact, only 2% were longer than 50 miles (80.4km).
Perhaps the idea of the open road is too strong to compel drivers to settle: even if most travel is just around town, Americans want to know they could set out on an epic road trip if they wanted.
Hopson also points to lack of consumer confidence in charging. Charger infrastructure and dependability has lagged, and Hopson says Americans would rather know their vehicle can do several hundred miles at a time than risk being stranded.
"If you don't have home charging," he says, "there's issues around road trips, and how to charge, where to charge or when to charge." Buyers may simply be waiting, he says, "for the next generation of batteries that are all quick-charging", or for charging infrastructure that guarantees a working charger at least every 200 miles or so.
A recent S&P analysis showed that among people who do make the switch to an EV, some feel considerable disappointment. The survey – which did not include the drivers of Telsas, which dominate the market *– showed nearly half of households who own a non-Tesla EV decide to buy a gas-powered car next.
Bigger's still better
On Car and Driver's 2022 list of the best-selling vehicles in the United States, half of the top ten – including spots one and two – were large pick-up trucks. The popularity of trucks and large SUVs has remained steady in the United States, and EV options in those segments remain limited. The ones that have hit the market have come with some considerable drawbacks.
"They've created [some] electric vehicles and said, 'you can do 350 miles in this, you can go off-roading, it's as big a vehicle as you want and you can fit this many people in it'," says Hopson. "The technology is a wonderment, but the engineering means the battery has to be this big, it has to weigh this much and the cost is this much. The reality is they're just guzzling in a different way, from an energy perspective."
The most noable example of this may be GM's reissue of the Hummer, a large SUV that was discontinued in its combustion-engine iteration, in 2010. The new EV version, which claims a range up to 381 miles (613km), weighs nearly 10,000lbs (4,539kg). The battery alone weighs as much as an entire Toyota Corolla.
Between the lithium needed to power the battery and the energy grid use to charge it, non-profit research group American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy found that the Hummer EV emits as much or more greenhouse gas as a standard-sized sedan.
While other larger EVs, like Ford's F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck, showed early promise and popularity, sales have slowed to a crawl as consumers find that using an EV truck the way they use a gas or diesel-powered one – towing, for instance – can cut the truck's range by a third or more.
Many Americans are simply waiting for a better EV option in the truck or vehicle category, or perhaps waiting for a certain manufacturer to release an EV version of a specific model, says Russell Hensley, co-lead of the Center for Future Mobility in the Americas at consulting firm McKinsey & Company. "You haven't got the full suite of vehicle choice at this point," he says. And in the meantime, a big "percentage are thinking, well, we'll just take one more internal combustion engine before we pivot".
A wave of change on the horizon
Whether or not cars that check Americans' boxes eventually enter the market, adoption will eventually rise, says Hensley, and EVs will take over. The wave of change is coming, he says, and generational differences when it comes to embracing that wave are unignorable.
In a recent McKinsey and Co survey, millennials – respondents between the ages of 25 and 40 – said they were three times as likely as Baby Boomers (people older than 56) to switch car brands for something that offered better connectivity, and seven-times as likely to switch for better autonomous driving features.
Essentially, says Hensley, the results speak to Baby Boomers' resistance to change, and unwillingness to let brand new technology alter their lifestyle, especially compared to younger people. "I think there is a fundamental difference there just in terms of expectations out of a vehicle," he says.
Younger consumers, on the other hand, are more open to a paradigm shift in the way they think about driving. In other words, they might not expect an EV to do everything a gas-powered car can do. They might be open, instead, to shaping their lives around the tech, rather than expecting the tech to fit their existing lifestyle.
"Right now, the people who can most easily go out and buy an EV," says Hensley, referring to the Baby Boomers, who currently control 70% of the disposable income in the US, "are the ones with the least willingness to change".
Of course, that won't always be the case. As the buying power of millennials and younger generations grows, EV market share will too, he says. The big unanswered question, he adds, is whether it's really the cars that need to evolve in the meantime, or Americans' expectations.
"Let's say you get to the point where you can have all the attributes that you've had historically with an internal combustion engine," he says. "The question becomes more whether you actually need them, or whether you begin to change your behaviour."
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article...-evs-all-wrong
Intermediate
Joined: Dec 2021
Posts: 264
Likes: 101
From: Surrey
Wow! And people get paid to write articles like that.
In short, battery technology isn't there yet, and nor is the charging infrastructure. And older people are more reluctant to change. Once the tech and infrastructure catches up then demand will increase, partly due to the reluctant boomers dying off, and partly due to those wanting the new tech being old enough to afford it.
No surprises there though, so let's toss in a hand grenade at the end, about people having to adapt to suit the tech, which is bound to rile up a few people and get responses like "why should I change, I've been doing it this way for 50 years, and my old car manages that just fine".
In short, battery technology isn't there yet, and nor is the charging infrastructure. And older people are more reluctant to change. Once the tech and infrastructure catches up then demand will increase, partly due to the reluctant boomers dying off, and partly due to those wanting the new tech being old enough to afford it.
No surprises there though, so let's toss in a hand grenade at the end, about people having to adapt to suit the tech, which is bound to rile up a few people and get responses like "why should I change, I've been doing it this way for 50 years, and my old car manages that just fine".
not sure what's 'wrong' with the article though... i've seen consistent questions from 'boomers' about range and charging and they're curious but not interested.
and for younger consumers, many live with parents or in apartments with no convenient charging, or just can't afford and ev, so they're out for now.
that leaves the 'niche' of affluent forward thinkers... not a tiny number of people to be sure, and as things improve, it will grow.
i think that's what the article said. 
truth hurts 
i see you're in uk though where charging infrastructure is even worse and electricity costs are higher. it's going to take a while. the incentive though is there since 'petrol' prices are so high there. (i grew up in sussex by the way and get back once a year)
and for younger consumers, many live with parents or in apartments with no convenient charging, or just can't afford and ev, so they're out for now.
that leaves the 'niche' of affluent forward thinkers... not a tiny number of people to be sure, and as things improve, it will grow.
In short, battery technology isn't there yet, and nor is the charging infrastructure. And older people are more reluctant to change. Once the tech and infrastructure catches up then demand will increase, partly due to the reluctant boomers dying off, and partly due to those wanting the new tech being old enough to afford it.
No surprises there though, so let's toss in a hand grenade at the end, about people having to adapt to suit the tech, which is bound to rile up a few people and get responses like "why should I change, I've been doing it this way for 50 years, and my old car manages that just fine".
i see you're in uk though where charging infrastructure is even worse and electricity costs are higher. it's going to take a while. the incentive though is there since 'petrol' prices are so high there. (i grew up in sussex by the way and get back once a year)
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 5,449
Likes: 948
From: IL
To summarize: People don't like change. Especially older people who are set in their ways.
The article left out one of the major reasons people don't want to change to EV's - politics. I'll leave it at that, but it's pretty clear by some of the comments we've seen by a few select members here. Musk is working on that, though.
I do think things will pick up once all, or most manufactures are on the same charging platform. That should have been the case from day 1. Imagine what it would be like if you could only buy gas at specific stations that had the correct nozzle for your ICE vehicle. Being able to charge at home is a huge benefit, but those living in areas where adding that capability is not possible are forced to find a public location. Building infrastructure takes time, so in a few years that concern should be mitigated.
Maybe we should have a poll to see how old actual EV owners on the forum are. I think I'm the only Boomer with one.
The article left out one of the major reasons people don't want to change to EV's - politics. I'll leave it at that, but it's pretty clear by some of the comments we've seen by a few select members here. Musk is working on that, though.
I do think things will pick up once all, or most manufactures are on the same charging platform. That should have been the case from day 1. Imagine what it would be like if you could only buy gas at specific stations that had the correct nozzle for your ICE vehicle. Being able to charge at home is a huge benefit, but those living in areas where adding that capability is not possible are forced to find a public location. Building infrastructure takes time, so in a few years that concern should be mitigated.
Maybe we should have a poll to see how old actual EV owners on the forum are. I think I'm the only Boomer with one.
A related article showing how China is WAY AHEAD in charging infrastructure and lower ev car costs.
https://www.reuters.com/business/aut...ge-2023-12-06/
https://www.reuters.com/business/aut...ge-2023-12-06/
Lexus Champion
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 11,116
Likes: 1,557
From: FL
Totally agree.
Trending Topics
Advanced
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 723
Likes: 171
From: West Coast
Response to bitkahuna
from Bitkahuna above: A related article showing how China is WAY AHEAD in charging infrastructure and lower ev car costs.
https://www.reuters.com/business/aut...ge-2023-12-06/
Way ahead....who do you want to believe ? China's main source of energy is coal fired plants, they continue to build more and more. They dont give a damn about pollution and force changes down your throat if you are a Chinese citizen.
Now, read this article below and see how successful their "push or shove " to the EV industry is
https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2...ev-graveyards/
AND another thing, talk about parallels to China....Gov Newsom in Calif and Now NY has banned the purchase of ICE cars in 2035. I DONT like being told what to buy or what NOT to buy... and that includes cooking on a gas stove which is of course will be banned for future purchase in Calif.
https://www.reuters.com/business/aut...ge-2023-12-06/
Way ahead....who do you want to believe ? China's main source of energy is coal fired plants, they continue to build more and more. They dont give a damn about pollution and force changes down your throat if you are a Chinese citizen.
Now, read this article below and see how successful their "push or shove " to the EV industry is
https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2...ev-graveyards/
AND another thing, talk about parallels to China....Gov Newsom in Calif and Now NY has banned the purchase of ICE cars in 2035. I DONT like being told what to buy or what NOT to buy... and that includes cooking on a gas stove which is of course will be banned for future purchase in Calif.
Last edited by Lexicon1; Dec 7, 2023 at 08:07 AM. Reason: clarification
Lexus Champion
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 12,493
Likes: 251
From: Illinois
To summarize: People don't like change. Especially older people who are set in their ways.
The article left out one of the major reasons people don't want to change to EV's - politics. I'll leave it at that, but it's pretty clear by some of the comments we've seen by a few select members here. Musk is working on that, though.
I do think things will pick up once all, or most manufactures are on the same charging platform. That should have been the case from day 1. Imagine what it would be like if you could only buy gas at specific stations that had the correct nozzle for your ICE vehicle. Being able to charge at home is a huge benefit, but those living in areas where adding that capability is not possible are forced to find a public location. Building infrastructure takes time, so in a few years that concern should be mitigated.
Maybe we should have a poll to see how old actual EV owners on the forum are. I think I'm the only Boomer with one.
The article left out one of the major reasons people don't want to change to EV's - politics. I'll leave it at that, but it's pretty clear by some of the comments we've seen by a few select members here. Musk is working on that, though.
I do think things will pick up once all, or most manufactures are on the same charging platform. That should have been the case from day 1. Imagine what it would be like if you could only buy gas at specific stations that had the correct nozzle for your ICE vehicle. Being able to charge at home is a huge benefit, but those living in areas where adding that capability is not possible are forced to find a public location. Building infrastructure takes time, so in a few years that concern should be mitigated.
Maybe we should have a poll to see how old actual EV owners on the forum are. I think I'm the only Boomer with one.
Advanced
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 723
Likes: 171
From: West Coast
Charging Infrastructure.....
The way I see it, in the USA, there are a number of areas including Calif and Texas where there have been too many recent examples of not enough power being generated just to run air conditioners in the summer or in Texas to heat homes a couple of years ago in the winter.
Until the USA decides to build more power plants (and that includes nuclear) we are not ready to start replacing the internal combustion engine vehicles. Adding more charging stations is not the only answer.....
Lexus Champion
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 19,487
Likes: 3,672
From: California
"US drivers don't believe a new electric auto could be a wholesale replacement for their current car"
Well I'm here to say that I've pretty much replaced all my gas cars with EV's. The only gas car I have left is our 2013 Sienna, which we mostly keep because it's paid off, and it's a minivan that seats 8. But we hardly drive it, like maybe 4 times this whole year?
The US is pretty much behind a lot of countries. China, Korea and Europe have faster (and way better) internet, better infrastructure, high speed rail that can take you from one part of the country to another is a few hours. Once China weans itself from coal and oil which is currently fueling their massive growth, they are going to surpass us technologically. This might even be the case today, as the last time I was in China I was amazed by their cities, subways and high speed trains.
I understand that EV's have their limitations (range), not everybody has the ability to charge at home, and in many places in the US infrastructure is lacking, but I think generally people don't like change. But I'm totally confident that once people start actually driving them, prices come down and non Tesla infrastructure get better, they won't want to go back. After owning and driving EV's for the last three years, I will happily put up with crappy infrastructure because the benefits of EV ownership way outweigh their shortcomings. In the words of my nephews wife who was a long time Lexus owner and switched to an EV...I ain't going back
Well I'm here to say that I've pretty much replaced all my gas cars with EV's. The only gas car I have left is our 2013 Sienna, which we mostly keep because it's paid off, and it's a minivan that seats 8. But we hardly drive it, like maybe 4 times this whole year?
The US is pretty much behind a lot of countries. China, Korea and Europe have faster (and way better) internet, better infrastructure, high speed rail that can take you from one part of the country to another is a few hours. Once China weans itself from coal and oil which is currently fueling their massive growth, they are going to surpass us technologically. This might even be the case today, as the last time I was in China I was amazed by their cities, subways and high speed trains.
I understand that EV's have their limitations (range), not everybody has the ability to charge at home, and in many places in the US infrastructure is lacking, but I think generally people don't like change. But I'm totally confident that once people start actually driving them, prices come down and non Tesla infrastructure get better, they won't want to go back. After owning and driving EV's for the last three years, I will happily put up with crappy infrastructure because the benefits of EV ownership way outweigh their shortcomings. In the words of my nephews wife who was a long time Lexus owner and switched to an EV...I ain't going back
Last edited by AMIRZA786; Dec 7, 2023 at 09:40 AM.
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 25,917
Likes: 4,274
From: Alberta
You can't convince some people no matter what, been there. I know quite a few people that are hard core apposed to electric vehicles because of the usual tropes. One if a family member, even after driving my Y which I know they loved (you can't fake it) they still won't buy one. They went from a giant smile on their face to convincing themselves EVs are no good. It was remarkable lol.