For EV advocates in the auto industry and in government departments trying to accelerate the global auto industry's transition to electric power, there's some good news and a lot of bad news in new Gallup polling data.
The good news is that more Americans today than ever before say they own an electric vehicle. At the same time, almost half of those who drive cars with internal combustion engines today do not want to give them up.
Gallup data showed that from March 2023 to March 2024, the share of electric vehicles in daily traffic increased from 4 to 7 percent. But it's the only number in the study that is likely to cheer the US government, which until recently hoped that 60 percent of new cars in 2030 would be electric.
The study found that the number of Americans who say they would seriously consider buying an electric car in the future fell from 12 percent to 9 percent, and the share of those who might consider buying one fell from 43 percent to 35 percent. It is interesting that the group of ardent supporters of cars with internal combustion engines, who do not intend to buy an electric car in the future, increased from 41 to 48 percent.
Of course, respondents' answers vary greatly depending on age, income and political preferences. Drivers under the age of 64 were more likely to already own an electric vehicle than those over 65, and drivers under the age of 50 were more likely to consider owning an electric vehicle than those over that age. And given the high price of electric cars compared to diesel cars, it's clear that Americans who make less than $40,000 a year are much less likely to own or consider buying an electric car.