Americans aren’t sold on electric vehicles just yet, according to a new poll.
About 4 in 10 U.S. adults said they’re at least somewhat likely to go electric for their next car, said the poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago.
Americans named high prices and too few charging stations as their main deterrents from going electric.
Amid President Joe Biden’s push to drastically increase the amount of electric cars on the road, only 8% of U.S. adults say they or someone in their household owns or leases an electric car, and only 8% said they or someone in their household has a plug-in hybrid car.
This comes even as tax credits for having an electric vehicle could be as high as $7,500.
President Biden’s mission is to have half of all car sales be electric by 2030. Meanwhile, car companies are investing billions in the cause to fight climate change, spending money on factories and batteries.
But about half of U.S. consumers, 47%, said it is not likely they would go electric for their next car purchase. Only 19% said it is very or extremely likely that they would buy an EV next.
While the average car sold in the U.S. is less than $46,000, according to Kelley Blue Book, the cost of a new electric car is $58,000. But that’s why higher tax credits for EVs were developed to help with the price tag.
Younger Americans are more likely to hop on the electric vehicle trend. About 55% of U.S. adults under 30 said they’re at least somewhat likely to get an electric car next.
Additional reporting from the Associated Press.