If you’re in the market for a new car and are trying to decide between some new-fangled electric vehicle and a traditional, gas-powered, combustion engine driven car, there have been a number of events that might push you toward a traditional car that have occurred recently.
First there was the hilarious story about how such cars are just about useless for a road trip due to the massive charging times, frequency of charges necessary to keep the thing powered, and necessity of stopping at the sparse charging ports rather than just staying on the road and stopping at any random gas station, as is possible with gas-powered cars, which also need to fill up less and can do so in minutes rather than hours.
So that confirmed what we all know to be true: if you need to go on a road trip or do much more than just drive to work and back, EVs might look cool but aren’t for you.
Then there was the loss that Ford’s new EV truck suffered when engaging in a pulling contest against a normal, gas-powered GM truck, though “loss” isn’t even the most appropriate word, as the electric truck didn’t even make it 100 miles into the competition before having to quit and turn around.
So that confirmed another thing we all know to be true: that battery-powered vehicles might have some uses and look cool, but if you need to get the job done reliably, a combustion engine vehicle is the way to go.
Further, electric vehicles, even if cheaper to charge than a gas-powered car is to fill up, are generally much more expensive than traditional vehicles, meaning that a recession will likely prove even harder on the EV companies or EV divisions of automakers than those that make cars with combustion-powered engines, with that being exacerbated by high-profile news of EV failures. Who wants to buy a truck that can’t pull a trailer 100 miles, particularly during a recession?
Oh, and, as James Woods pointed out recently, there’s a major safety threat with EVs: their charging times and what that means for people stuck at gas/charging stations in the dark of night, particularly with the Biden crime spike.
Well, consumers must have taken all that into account, or at least recognized some of the problems with the souped-up golf carts that are EVs: a recent, devastating (for the EV industry) poll shows that a minuscule 14 percent of the American consumer base would definitely think about getting an EV, as ZeroHedge reports, saying:
A new nationwide survey from Consumer Reports shows that range anxiety and cost are the primary factors holding back consumers from purchasing an electric vehicle. Only 14 pct of respondents said they would definitely buy an EV, not enough to support a vibrant used EV market.
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Takeaway: This survey is instructive in that it captures the receptivity to EVs among BOTH new and used car buyers. For the EV market to prove robust and sustainable, it will need to achieve broader adoption to support the EV ecosystem that helps drive resale values and affordable lease rates.
At present, more than a quarter of Americans are not open to getting an EV, with range anxiety and costs the primary factors holding back consumers. Many Americans are also still unfamiliar with EVs in terms of how they work and the tax incentives available. Spurring more EV adoption will come down to improving the technology (i.e. extending vehicle range), expanding the number of public charging stations, and offering/publicizing financial incentives which help bring down purchase prices.
Americans might be warming up, a little bit, to EVs. But, heading into a recession, the muted enthusiasm from the consumer base is very, very bad news for the industry.
By: Gen Z Conservative, editor of GenZConservative.com. Follow me on Facebook and Subscribe to My Email List
This story syndicated with permission from Gen Z Conservative