Consulting firm McKinsey and Company surveyed two groups of car owners: those who own an Electric Vehicle (EV) and those who own gas-powered cars, who have thought about buying an EV.
EV Car Owners
The survey found that nearly half (46%) of Americans who own EV cars are ready to switch back to owning a gas-powered vehicle.
EV car owners listed several reasons why they were having buyer’s remorse.
- 35% said there was a lack of charging infrastructure.
- 34% said the costs were too high.
- 32% said planning a long trip was becoming too difficult.
- 24% said they had no way of charging their car from their home.
- 21% said worrying about keeping their vehicle charged was becoming too stressful.
- 13% said they did not enjoy the comfort when driving their EV.
That number shocked Philipp Kampshoff, the leader of the McKinsey Center for Future Mobility. “I didn’t expect that. I thought, ’Once an EV buyer, always an EV buyer,” said Kampshoff.
Gas Powered Car Owners
The McKinsey survey found owners of gas vehicles who were thinking about buying an EV but didn’t give their reasons.
45% said electric cars were too expensive
33% had concerns about charging them
29% said they had range anxiety on how far the car could go before charging it again.
The survey said the slowness in the economy also influenced consumers’ decisions.
44% said they were putting off buying an electric car.
58% said no way they were ditching their current vehicle.
53% of electric car owners said on their next car purchase, they would trade down and 18%, said admitted their skepticism of electric cars because they enjoy driving their gas-powered cars.
