A recent survey conducted by McKinsey Mobility Consumer Pulse found that nearly half of American electric vehicle owners expressed regret over their purchase and a desire to return to internal combustion engine vehicles. The survey, which polled nearly 37,000 consumers worldwide, revealed that 46% of American electric vehicle owners are “very” likely to opt for a traditional gas-powered car for their next purchase.
Philipp Kampshoff, head of McKinsey’s Center for Future Mobility, was surprised by the high number of Americans eager to switch back to gas-powered vehicles. “I didn’t expect that,” Kampshoff said. “I thought, ‘Once an EV buyer, always an EV buyer.'”
The survey also found that high costs and low familiarity with electric vehicles were the top barriers to embracing the technology. Those most likely to buy electric cars were typically younger, wealthier, and urban. Insufficient charging infrastructure and total ownership costs were the most cited reasons for returning to gas-powered cars.
Despite the resistance to electric vehicles, the Biden administration has aggressively promoted them as a key part of its plan to reduce emissions. In April, more than two dozen attorneys general sued the federal government over the Environmental Protection Agency’s electric vehicle mandate, which requires car manufacturers to reduce “fleetwide average carbon emissions” by 56% over eight years.
According to an Ipsos poll conducted last fall, 57% of Americans reported they were unlikely to purchase an electric car in the first place, while 11% were unsure. Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman criticized the Biden administration’s electric vehicle policies, saying they are willing to sacrifice the American auto industry and its workers in service of their radical green agenda.
Generous subsidies from the Biden administration have also benefited Chinese suppliers, who hold a monopoly on mineral supply chains. A 2022 report from the Brookings Institute warned that China’s dominance in critical minerals is jeopardizing western economies increasingly reliant on overseas refinement to sustain development of modern technologies such as electric vehicles.
