https://patch.com/us/across-america/would-you-buy-electric-or-hybrid-vehicle-patch-survey
By Beth Dalbey,Patch Staff
WASHINGTON, DC — The Biden administration is ripping the bandage off a long-festering sore in America with a new rule Wednesday that could phase out most gas-powered cars in favor of electric and hybrid vehicles.
The auto industry could meet the goal if 56 percent of new vehicle sales are electric by 2032, along with at least 13 percent plug-in hybrids or other partially electric cars and light trucks, and more fuel-efficient gas-powered vehicles.
U.S. auto dealers sold a record 1.2 million electric vehicles last year, but they represented only 7.6 percent of total car sales, a far cry from the 56 percent target. The reasons vary, from concerns about the vehicles’ range to battery life and replacement costs to an anti-“woke” backlash and 2024 presidential election politics.
“They have become a political football, and that’s a shame,” Ford Motor chief executive Jim Farley recently lamented.
Half of U.S. adults in a Pew Research survey last year said they weren’t likely to consider buying an EV, and 13 percent said they wouldn’t. The share of Americans who said they would be interested in buying an EV was down 4 percentage points from the 2022 survey period. (Via Pew: “Half of U.S. adults say they are not too or not at all likely to consider purchasing an EV, while another 13% say they do not plan to purchase a vehicle.”
A Gallup poll last year showed similar results, with only about 12 percent saying they are considering buying one, 43 percent saying they might consider it and 41 percent saying unequivocally they would not buy an electric vehicle.
Gallup poll – APRIL 12, 2023: Democrats most likely to own EVs and to say they help climate change – Yet, this idea that electric vehicles help to address climate change is not universally accepted by Americans. While about four in 10 U.S. adults think using EVs helps address climate change “a great deal” (12%) or “a fair amount” (27%), roughly six in 10 believe it helps “only a little” (35%) or “not at all” (26%). … Americans who worry a great deal about global warming or climate change are most open to owning an electric vehicle now or in the future, with 79% saying they currently own one (5%), are seriously considering it (16%) or would at some point (58%). Conversely, 77% of those who are not at all concerned about climate change say they would never own an EV.
Americans who worry a great deal about global warming or climate change are most open to owning an electric vehicle now or in the future, with 79% saying they currently own one (5%), are seriously considering it (16%) or would at some point (58%). Conversely, 77% of those who are not at all concerned about climate change say they would never own an EV.
In addition to being more open to owning electric vehicles, Democrats are also more likely than Republicans to say the use of EVs helps address climate change. Just over two-thirds of Democrats think electric vehicles help a great deal (22%) or a fair amount (46%). Meanwhile, 55% of Republicans say they do not help at all, and 32% believe they help only a little bit. Independents are closer to Republicans than Democrats in their views.
While ownership of electric vehicles is on the rise in the U.S., the percentage of Americans who say they own one remains limited at 4%. Though they are often promoted as a key way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and address the effects of climate change, the public remains largely unconvinced that the use of EVs accomplishes this aim.
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Via Pew: “Half of U.S. adults say they are not too or not at all likely to consider purchasing an EV, while another 13% say they do not plan to purchase a vehicle.”
A Gallup poll in 2023 showed similar results, with only about 12 percent saying they are considering buying one, 43 percent saying they might consider it and 41 percent saying unequivocally they would not buy an electric vehicle. Gallup poll – APRIL 12, 2023:
