Support CleanTechnica's work through . Help us produce all of the despite the challenges of content-scraping AI, antisocial media, inflation, and other hurdles.
US President Donald Trump’s war in Iran has kicked off a global run-up in the cost of gasoline, making the economic case for electric mobility all the more convincing — except here in the US, where the gas price spike has failed to help EV sales recover from last year’s crash. So, what will turn the trick? A new study suggests that the answer lies in your friendly neighborhood quick-serve restaurants and convenience stores.
Moving The Needle On EV Sales
EV sales in the US last fall and into this year, after Trump and his the Republican majority in Congress signed a premature death certificate for the $7,500 federal EV tax credit.The damage was severe, though not total. And then, February 28 happened. That was the day US President Donald Trump began bombing Iran, clearly anticipating a quick in-and-out for the US military as a followup to his colonialistic . Predictably, though, Iran slapped back. The nation effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz to shipping, choking off a key oil and gas supply route. Iran also struck back at US allies in the region, damaging additional oil and gas assets.
Sure enough, data from online searches soon indicated that more car buyers were interested in switching over to the EV side, at least in some markets. In March, for example, the UK online marketplace Autotrader reported that were up 28%. Used EVs also saw a surge in interest, hitting a record increase of 19.5% for cars five years old or under.
As for the impact on actual EV sales, Autotrader Chief Customs Officer Ian Plummer suggested that fuel price increases related to a long war — such as the Iran War — could motivate a permanent upward movement in EV sales. Still, he also cautioned that EV makers need to convince drivers that electric mobility fits their lifestyles, indicating that the public EV charging environment needs improvement.
That charging station angle is also beginning to emerge here in the US. In the days following February 28, the leading firm Edmunds correlated an uptick in online EV searches to a spike in gas costs, reporting that “22.4% of searches were for electrified models during the week of March 2, up from 20.7% the week prior.”
“ are responsible for most of the increase,” Edmunds added, and therein lies the rub. The full-EV momentum soon petered out. Rather than pumping up sales of pure battery-electric EVs, many car buyers were, and are, still not convinced. Instead, they are turning to plug-in hybrids and range-extended hybrids (check out CleanTechnica’s latest quarterly EV sales report ).
The EV Charging Station Factor
And, that’s where the new study comes in. The analysis comes under the wing of the data mapping and location firm HERE Technologies in collaboration with the research firm SBD Automotive, under the title, “HERE-SBD EV Index 2026.”First, the bad news: “ is 5.37% for 2026 year-to-date, down nearly 3% from 2025 full year,” the partners report, citing figures from the Alliance for Automotive Innovation. And now, the bright side:
“Despite the slowing EV adoption trend, this year’s findings suggest Americans are becoming more receptive to EV ownership. Of non-EV drivers, 10% fewer intend to purchase gas vehicles for their next car compared to last year’s survey; 8% more would choose electric if price and specifications were the same; and 12% see no barriers at all to EV adoption, up from 6% last year.”
While the survey does attribute some of the interest to rising fuel costs, it also takes note of a change in driver sentiment regarding other factors:
US respondents also cited improving EV range and charging speed (35%), charging infrastructure (31%) and charging availability at home or work (29%) as key factors driving increased consideration.
“While charging availability and driving range still ranked among the top three barriers, those selecting these concerns declined by 14% and 15% respectively since last year’s report,” the report emphasizes, noting that the US added 31,600 public EV charging facilities since the HERE-SBD EV Index 2025 was released last year. Charge power also rose by an impressive 47%, indicating that drivers are making use of speedier charge times.
The Confidence Factor
All of this is very encouraging, but there is work to be done. As described by the report, “positive perceptions” of public charging availability are still hovering under the halfway point, at 47%. That’s a significant improvement over last year’s mark of 28%, but still short of what is needed to jumpstart the pace of an EV sales recovery in the US.On the other hand, the upswing in consumer confidence could lead to an increase in EV sales, all else being equal. “Consumer sentiment often leads purchasing behavior, making confidence an important indicator to watch as the market continues to evolve,” explains SBD Automotive Senior Consulting Manager Robert Fisher.
Moving from “could” to “will” remains to be seen. However, the report indicates that the practicality factor could help move the needle. It suggests that EV makers can cut a lot of hay by ditching the planet-saving messages of the electrification movement in favor of wallet-based concerns.
“Americans increasingly view EVs as a practical purchase,” the report emphasizes, noting that 31% of those surveyed said that better value is the leading motivator for EV adoption, with better performance and lower costs each running a close second at 29%.
EV marketers could also do themselves some favors by drawing from the experiences of current EV owners. It’s common knowledge that the overwhelming majority of EV drivers plan to purchase another EV instead of going back to gasmobiles, but the new report adds another layer of insight. According to the survey, the EV experience is beating, not just meeting, driver expectations:
“Many EV owners report the experience exceeds expectations. Nearly three-quarters say charging has been better than expected, 76% report vehicle range performs better than expected and 77% would likely replace their current EV with another EV.”
EV Sales And The Convenience Factor
EV sales in the US still face a long, hard slog to catch up with the rest of the world. However, EV makers also have a silent partner in hand, in the form of thousands of , travel centers, and that began at scale soon after Trump took office last year.Particularly in the case of quick-serve restaurants, chargers are increasingly available where drivers make their regular stops, outside of gas stations. In contrast, gas station availability has been shrinking as a long-term consolidation in the industry continues and “gas deserts” become more common.
EV stakeholders also have a not-so-silent partner in the form of the IONNA consortium, an automaker-centered EV charging platform that pitches lounge-style comforts alongside the convenience of its .
In addition, improvements in public charging infrastructure will help open up the EV sales bottleneck in a new market, consisting of millions of potential EV buyers who live in multi-family buildings and complexes where home charging is unavailable.
Circling back around to the cost of gas, is not the only area where Trump has shot himself in the foot. His foot-dragging, appeasement policy on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has enabled the war to stretch well into its fifth year. Instead of joining with the EU to force Russian President Vladimir Putin out of Ukraine, Trump’s malicious shilly-shallying has led Ukraine to pound away at Russia’s oil and gas industry, further contributing to volatility in global fuel markets — and making the case for EVs stronger than ever before.
Image: The new “HERE-SBD EV Index 2026” indicates that is a key factor with implications for an EV sales comeback in the US (cropped, courtesy of HERE).
Sign up for . Or sign up for if daily is too frequent.
CleanTechnica uses affiliate links. See our policy .