It isn't a matter of if electric vehicles become more popular than internal combustion, but when. It might not come for a while, but it's happening one way or another. And the switch is already starting, as data from the recently released shows that more American car buyers are interested in EVs than they were last year. And the main driver of American EV interest is its growing charging infrastructure.
What's interesting is that EV market share in America is actually down to 5.37% this year, an almost 3% drop, after the tax credit went away. However, despite the drop, when polled, 10% fewer ICE vehicle owners said they intended to buy another gas-powered car, according to the Alliance for Automotive Innovation. Around 8% of ICE drivers said they'd switch to an EV if price and options were the same, while 12% wanted to switch over to electric regardless of price. That latter figure has doubled from last year, when only 6% said the same. So EV sales might be down, relative to piston power, but interest is up.
Gas prices are certainly having an impact, as around 57% of drivers polled said that gas prices are influences their desire to shift toward EVs. And eight out of 10 existing EV owners cite fuel costs as one of the main reasons to never look back. However, despite high fuel costs driving people to EVs, improvements in charging locations, charge speed, and EV range are still the biggest factors. With improved vehicles and an EV infrastructure that's getting better, more and more Americans feel more comfortable in making the switch than ever.
Photo by: Electrify America
It isn't everywhere, as states like Iowa and South Dakota actually dropped in EV interest, due to a lousy charging infrastructure. Other states saw massive spikes in their EV Index, like Alaska, Oklahoma, and Utah. The top five states for EV Index were, in order from first to fifth, Delaware, Washington D.C., New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, proving that the East Coast is the most rapidly improving part of the country.
So while EV sales by themselves might not indicate that the country is moving in favor of them, the whole picture suggests that we're trending in the electric direction.