Survey Reveals Increasing Number of Americans Reluctant to Give Up Gas-Powered Cars, Citing Cost and Charging Concerns

Green energy industry is the trend of the future, leading to the rapid development of the electric vehicle market. However, a recent survey has found that an increasing number of Americans are reluctant to give up their gas-powered cars, citing reasons such as high prices, lack of charging stations, limited driving range, and long charging times.

According to Business Insider, J.D. Power, a well-known automotive market research firm, conducted a survey that revealed that in the first quarter of this year, the proportion of car owners who completely ruled out buying an electric car rose from 17.8% to 21%. Meanwhile, the proportion of car owners who said they would definitely buy an electric car remained stable at around 26.9%, indicating that consumer opinions are becoming more divided.

Although the electric vehicle market has grown from 2.6% in February 2020 to 8.5% in March 2023, many issues continue to plague consumers. In addition to the four common problems mentioned earlier, American consumers are also concerned about the endurance and condition of electric cars in extreme weather conditions, as well as the ownership costs, lack of repair shops, battery shortages, and durability.

The report mentioned that JD Power’s data also showed that the group of consumers who were not considering switching to electric cars was not just the elderly. As many as 33% of “Generation Z” consumers were not very interested in or would not buy electric cars.

Another market research platform, Bumper, pointed out that before electric cars become mainstream, challenges such as accessibility and fairness of charging stations need to be addressed. The wealthiest Americans have the most opportunities to use charging stations, and as a result, up to 72% of charging stations are located in the wealthiest cities in the US, with an average of only three charging plugs per 10,000 people.