Many US consumers staying away from EVs due to lack of charging availability: report

American car buyers' interest in purchasing electric vehicles (EVs) dipped compared to a year ago, in part due to concerns about adequate charging infrastructure, a new study from J.D. Power shows.

The J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Electric Vehicle Consideration Study found that for the first time since the study's inception in 2021, consumers looking to buy a new car were less likely to consider buying an EV.

It found that 24% of car shoppers say they're "very likely" to consider buying an EV, a decrease from 26% last year, while the percentage of those who said they're "overall likely" to consider purchasing an EV declined to 58% from 61% in 2023.

Among car shoppers who said they're "somewhat unlikely" or "very unlikely" to buy an EV, the lack of charging station availability was the leading reason given by respondents, with 52% citing that as the reason they're less interested in EVs. That figure rose 3 percentage points from a year ago, which J.D. Power suggested may be "a sign that concerns about public charging infrastructure are only getting worse."

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The government was supposed to help. Congress appropriated $7.5 billion that the Biden administration wanted to use to build 500,000 chargers by 2030. To date, according to reporting by Autoweek, only eight have been built since President Biden signed the legislation. 

Other reasons given by shoppers who rejected buying an EV were the purchase price, limited driving distance per charge, time required to charge and the inability to charge at home or work.

In prior years of the study, J.D. Power found that car owners who drove more miles on a daily basis were more likely to consider an EV. 

However, that trend reversed in this year's study in part due to lower fuel prices and rising charging anxiety, as it found that only 24% of car owners who commute 46 to 60 minutes each way said they're "very likely" to consider an EV — a figure that's down 13 percentage points from 2023.

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High prices for EVs were a notable deterrent for younger cohorts of car buyers in Gen Z and Gen Y, with the share of respondents who said they're "very likely" to consider an EV down 2 and 5 percentage points from a year ago, respectively. 

Despite the decline, these younger generations were still the most likely among all generational cohorts to show higher interest in EVs, with 24% of Gen Z and 32% of Gen Y car shoppers saying they're "very likely" to consider an EV.

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The study also found distinctions between car shoppers looking to add another vehicle to their household and those who rely on a single vehicle for transportation. 

Over two-thirds, or 68%, of shoppers looking to buy an additional car were "overall likely" to consider an EV — compared to just 47% of those who rely on one vehicle who may be more sensitive to logistical concerns like charging infrastructure.

"As the industry inches toward mass consumer adoption, the main roadblocks to getting consumers behind the wheel of an EV are the continued shortage of affordable vehicles, charging concerns and a lack of knowledge regarding the EV ownership proposition, including incentives," Stewart Stropp, executive director of EV intelligence at J.D. Power, said in a statement.

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The results of the survey indicating consumer apprehensions about EVs have been reflected in the auto market, with EV-maker Tesla reporting in April that its quarterly revenue declined for the first time since 2020.

Those headwinds have also caused several automakers such as Ford and Mercedes-Benz to shift their EV goals and production plans in response to consumer demand.

Reuters contributed to this report.