The consumer divide between electric vehicles and non EVs continues to grow in the United States, with more EV holdouts becoming more resolute — despite recent market share growth.
That is according to J.D. Power’s E-Vision Intelligence Report, which found that the percentage of U.S. consumers who are “very unlikely” to consider an EV as their next vehicle has increased over several months to reach 21% in March.
“It’s not all sunshine (and) smooth sailing on the road to the EV future,” said J.D. Power in its report. “While the long-term trend in EV market share has grown significantly from 2.6% of all new-vehicle sales in February 2020 to 8.5% in February 2023, sales hit a speed bump in March, with monthly market share falling to 7.3%.”
They added that some month-to-month volatility is to be expected. But there remains a number of barriers to EV adoptions, such as charging infrastructure and vehicle pricing. And many consumers looking to buy a new vehicle are immovable in their decision to not consider an EV.
“Top-line metrics on overall EV market share, availability and affordability have been on a long-term upward trend, but beneath those headline numbers we are starting to see some consumer behaviours that suggest a possible bifurcation of the automotive marketplace,” said J.D. Power in its report.
The company said that the number of EV holdouts in the U.S. is growing. For example, 21% of new-vehicle shoppers are “very unlikely” to consider an EV — an increase of 18.9% in February and 17.8% in January 2023. For vehicle shoppers overall, that number is 26.9% and it has been largely flat for the past three months.
Charging infrastructure, the sticker price, and demographics all play a role. Most Boomers and Pre-Boomers are not considering EVs, and one-third of Gen Z shoppers are unlikely (or very unlikely) to buy one.
