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Purchase an EV

78% of Americans drive every day, making the personal car the most popular mode of transportation in the United States. Convincing these daily drivers to make their next car electric can significantly reduce emissions and create savings opportunities.

What’s Going On

Of people who said they didn’t own an electric car,  50% said they have  considered getting one in the recent past. And 51% said they could confidently purchase and drive an electric car. So why does our data also show hesitancy through an average intention-to-purchase score of 36%?

Opportunity

A personalized program that helps Americans navigate incentives, availability and driving experience can help boost electric vehicle adoption. Our data shows that most people think the cars cost more than equivalent gasoline cars. It also shows that fewer than half believe that the total cost of ownership is less than that of a gasoline car, suggesting people are not aware of substantial possible savings from electric car ownership. We found that the average interest in a program that helps people get an electric vehicle is 53%—the highest when compared to the average interest for other programs. This program would have wide national appeal: program interest is 3-8% higher among Black or African American people and Hispanic people.

The Impacts

If 10% of new car purchases are fully electric, 65 million MtCO2e would be avoided annually. This amounts to the avoided cost to society of between $2.9 to $33.4 billion per year.

For more information related to the Climate Culture Index research or findings, contact Brandon Schauer at bschauer@rare.org.

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