EV charging and range are improving, but Americans still don’t want to switch

That drop in demand is reflected in stagnant growth in electric vehicle sales over the past year as companies adapt to a new crop of greener, more practical car buyers. Simply put, these buyers are also much harder to please than the enthusiastic receivers of years past.

EY found that only 24 percent of U.S. car buyers named range limitations as a top concern, down from 30 percent a year ago. Meanwhile, only 23 percent of U.S. shoppers said they were concerned about finding a place to connect, down from 34 percent of respondents in 2023.

It should be a huge deal, but today’s electric car buyers are less willing to put up with the steep learning curve associated with switching to an all-electric car – even as they get cheaper and the technology keeps getting better.

“To maintain momentum and make electric vehicle ownership attractive, it’s imperative that we educate and create a seamless customer experience from the dealer to the charging point,” Marc Coltelli, EY Americas Power & Utilities eMobility Leader. said in the study.

Battery-powered cars accounted for a record 7.6 percent of all car sales in 2023, according to Kelley Blue Book, up from 5.9 percent in 2022. But that sales growth has plateaued after years of growth exponential.

Industry executives and analysts this year forecast more modest growth through the end of 2024, with electric vehicles expected to account for between 8% and 10% of sales this year.

EV charging has improved, but it still has a long way to go

Both the auto industry and the US government rallied around the issue, and earlier this year the number of public charging stations in the US doubled from 2020, according to Pew Research and the Department of Energy.

In addition to this infrastructure improvement, more electric vehicles have been designed to drive as far as a gasoline car on a single charge, and today’s batteries are built to charge faster.

But it’s still not enough. The US network of 61,000 public charging stations pales in comparison to the roughly 120,000 gas stations nationwide. And just because there’s a charger doesn’t mean it’s in the right place or compatible with the electric vehicle you’re driving.

JD Power’s annual study of public electric vehicle charging experiences, released in August, found that 19% of respondents visited a charger but were unable to charge their vehicle. Most of these failed charging visits were due to unavailability or the charger being broken, JD Power found.

Affordability is also a key issue for electric car buyers today, an issue the industry has tried to address with lower sticker prices. The average price paid for an electric vehicle has fallen steadily over the past year, and some of the best lease deals are reserved for electric cars right now.

But EV buyers have found a new cost to worry about.

EY also found that improvements in charging and autonomy attitudes were tempered by an increase in concern about battery life and maintenance charges, with 27% of US respondents reporting concerns about batteries dear

EVs are still a tough sell for the average buyer

American consumers are still quite skeptical about switching to an all-electric car, with 21 percent of EY survey respondents saying they prefer a gradual transition from gasoline-powered cars to battery-powered cars.

This is driving demand for hybrid vehicles, which come in plug-in varieties or with gas-electric engines that don’t need to be recharged at all, because of their higher mileage and lower lifestyle.

“With many still hesitant to go fully electric, hybrids offer an ‘easier to swallow’ solution,” EY Americas Aerospace, Defense and Mobility leader Raman Ram said in the report. “For those looking to make the transition for environmental reasons, hybrids allow owners to reduce their reliance on fuel and create options for batteries and parts. For many, it’s a win-win.”

It’s not quite that simple, though. Hybrids are hard to come by right now as automakers rush back to the once withered segment. The current mismatch between supply and demand for these vehicles makes shopping for them stressful and prices difficult to swallow.