A new poll finds that more than a third of Americans would consider buying an electric vehicle when they purchase their next model.
The seven-day Reuters/Ipsos survey showed 34% of respondents would consider an EV, while 31% said they wouldn’t. Respondents who answered in the affirmative were greater among Democrats, or 50%, compared to 26% of Republicans and 27% of independents.
Reuters said there are more than 80 EV models on the market for consumers to choose from and that EVs made up 6% of U.S. sales last year, up more than 60%.
More than half of respondents, or 56%, said they’d pay no more than $49,999 for an EV model, though many models easily exceed that. New federal tax credits of up to $7,500 for EV purchases appear to be encouraging EV adoption.
Range anxiety remains a significant factor among prospective EV buyers. Of poll respondents, 35% indicated they’d look for a model with at least a 500-mile range per full charge, while 37% would want at least 300 miles worth of charge. But few models on today’s market can last that long between charges.
Many states are encouraging EV adoption, some states by moving to phase out gas-powered models next decade. And the Biden administration is targeting is aiming for half of new-vehicle sales to be zero-emission models by 2030.
