Many US consumers resist buying electric vehicles because of politics – Republican voters are likely to have negative views of EVs and wouldn’t buy such a car even when they could afford it.
The majority of conservative respondents in a Morning Consult poll for The Wall Street Journal view electric cars unfavorably, with 41% saying their opinion is “very unfavorable” and another 20% “somewhat unfavorable.”
Only 31% of people who identified as conservative said they had a favorable view of EVs. This compares to 66% of respondents who identified as liberal and have a favorable opinion of electric cars.
The adoption of electric vehicles and the federal mandate to increase electric vehicle sales have become a politically contentious issue, especially ahead of November’s presidential election.
President Joe Biden is pushing for an increasing share of electric vehicles in the nation’s fleet, while presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump is firmly against encouraging electric vehicle purchases and has vowed to reverse Biden’s policies.
If Trump wins the presidential election, he will certainly support the oil and gas industry by introducing more lease sales – after all, “drill, baby, drill” is a frequent campaign theme, as is Biden’s EV mandate.
“On Day One, I will end Crooked Joe Biden’s insane electric vehicle mandate,” Trump he said at a rally earlier this year.
Meanwhile, EVs lost market share in the United States in the first quarter of 2024 as battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales fell for the first time since the start of Covid in 2020.
U.S. automakers have signaled a slowdown in consumer use of electric vehicles since late last year.
Last month, Ford Motor Company said it was delaying the planned launch of some of its next-generation electric vehicles as it expands its offering of hybrid vehicles, in the latest sign that consumer adoption of the vehicles trams slowed down.
“The additional time will allow the consumer market for three-row electric vehicles to further develop and allow Ford to take advantage of emerging battery technology with the goal of providing customers with greater durability and better value,” Ford said in a statement. communicated in April.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
