A new Gallup poll shows that electric vehicle ownership is still on the rise, with a four percent gain in EV ownership from 2023-2024. It also shows that consumers who don’t currently own an EV and are shopping for a new vehicle are far less interested in an EV purchase than they were a year ago.
The number of responses from those “seriously considering buying” an EV dropped from 45 percent to 35 percent year-on-year and the number of “would not buy” an EV responses went from 41 percent to 48 percent. Both indicators of dropping consumer interest in electric vehicles.
The combined results indicate a greater than 10 percent drop in EV-interested buyers from 2023 to 2024. Gallup confirms that this overall trend is commensurate with other, similar studies and with automakers’ general attitudes towards reigning in aggressive EV plans.
Gallup’s data also shows that upper-income (over $100,000), likely luxury brand buyers are still the prime target market for electric vehicles. About 14 percent of this demographic now owns an EV compared to just six percent last year. Eleven percent are considering an EV now, making a combined 25 percent of likely owners in the upper-income demographics. That’s compared to 14 percent and 9 percent for middle income ($40,000+) and lower income (under $40,000) Americans respectively. The latter group changed the most, with 61 percent saying they will not buy an EV, an 18 percent jump.
Age is another factor in EV ownership, Gallup found. The highest “currently own” and “might consider” numbers are found in the 18-29 year old group while the highest “would not buy” group is the over 65 set. The older the buyer, the less likely an EV purchase is expected, though the 30-49 demographic is the group most seriously considering buying. This age is the largest group of new car buyers, statistically, followed closely by the pre-retirement 50+ group.
As expected, politics also play a large role in EV ownership or expected ownership. Those identifying as Democrats or “liberal” in political view are much more likely to own or consider owning an EV than are those identifying as Republican or conservative.
This article originally published on EVmeme.com.
