Three big reasons Americans haven’t rapidly adopted EVs

US Consumers Slow to Adopt Electric Vehicles

The Expansion of the EV Market

Throughout the past few years, analysts have touted electric vehicles as the future of transport – one Americans would dive into, eagerly and rapidly. The EV market is indeed expanding, but the US’s electric vehicle ‘revolution’ appears to be happening much slower than some analysts and car manufacturers expected.

Since 2016, sales of EVs in the US have grown – from nearly 65,000 vehicles sold in 2017, to more than 800,000 vehicles in 2022. Data from auto analytics firm Motor Intelligence showed EV sales rose 51% in the first half of 2023, following the upwards trend. However, those gains are still a drop from last year’s 71% growth in the same timeframe. And Tesla, which leads the market with more than half of all EV sales, recently reported its lowest quarterly earnings in two years, leading to a $138bn (£111.4bn) drop in the company’s stock value.

Business Decisions Based on Slow EV Adoption

Some American car manufacturers are taking new business decisions based on these signals.

• General Motors is pulling away from a production goal of 400,000 EVs by mid-2024 and has cancelled plans to build a line of more affordable EVs with Honda.
• Ford executives are delaying billions of dollars in EV investment, saying they don’t yet need the production capacity to meet demand.

Affordability as a Barrier

It’s not that Americans don’t want to buy EVs, says Elizabeth Krear, vice president of Electric Vehicle Practice at consumer-intelligence firm J.D. Power. “We survey over 2,000 new vehicle shoppers to gauge their interest in EVs every single month,” she says. “In October, the percentage of new vehicle shoppers very likely to consider a full-battery electric vehicle reached an all-time high of 29.2%. So, almost one out of every three new vehicle shoppers are very likely to consider an EV for their next vehicle purchase.”

Yet a few core reasons have slowed the progress of EV adoption for US drivers – barriers that need solutions before American uptake can skyrocket as forecasted.

The Affordability Issue

Chief among these roadblocks is affordability. Even as prices come down, and the US introduces tax credits, EVs remain much more expensive than their combustion counterparts. With US interest rates at a two-decade high, the price tag for the average American car shopper is prohibitive.

Charging as a Challenge

Beyond the expense of installing a home charger, there’s another barrier to powering EVs for many average Americans: there’s nowhere to put those chargers. “It might make sense [to buy an EV] if you could recharge that vehicle in the driveway of your house while you’re asleep,” says Ashley Nunes, a senior research associate at Harvard Law School. “The problem is that many Americans don’t even have driveways.” Establishing a robust infrastructure of public charging stations is key to mass adoption of EVs.

A Supplement, Not a Replacement

Booms in EV sales in recent years were led by early adopters – people for whom an EV was an easy sell. Now, most of the people interested in owning an EV already do. Middle-income Americans ought to be the next target group of buyers, but companies have failed to engage them to jump into the market. Additionally, even consumers who have purchased EVs are not outright replacing petrol-powered vehicles. Instead of fully transitioning to electric power, consumers are often supplementing their personal fleets.

An Optimistic Outlook

Despite the challenges, or the slower-than-anticipated rate of great change, Elizabeth Krear says the EV revolution is still very much happening. “Retail share is growing, consumer interest is growing, availability is growing,” she says. “We do see prices coming down. We do see infrastructure initiatives taking place. We’re seeing in the news that more automakers wanting to enter that discussion. There is a lot of initiative and yes, it’s going to take a little bit of time for consumer confidence to catch up.” Over the next few years, she expects “we’ll continue to see tremendous progress”.

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. Sustainable Development Goal: Affordable and Clean Energy (SDG 7)

– Target 7.3: By 2030, double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency

– Indicator 7.3.1: Energy intensity measured in terms of primary energy and GDP

2. Sustainable Development Goal: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure (SDG 9)

– Target 9.4: By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes

– Indicator 9.4.1: CO2 emissions per unit of value added

3. Sustainable Development Goal: Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11)

– Target 11.2: By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible, and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities, and older persons

– Indicator 11.2.1: Proportion of population that has convenient access to public transport, by sex, age, and persons with disabilities

4. Sustainable Development Goal: Climate Action (SDG 13)

– Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning

– Indicator 13.2.1: Number of countries that have communicated the strengthening of institutional, systemic, and individual capacity-building to implement adaptation, mitigation, and technology transfer

Analysis

1. The issues highlighted in the article are connected to the following SDGs:

– SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

– SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

– SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

– SDG 13: Climate Action

2. Specific targets under these SDGs based on the article’s content are:

– Target 7.3: Improve energy efficiency

– Target 9.4: Upgrade infrastructure and adopt sustainable technologies

– Target 11.2: Provide access to sustainable transport systems

– Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into policies and planning

3. The indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets are:

– Indicator 7.3.1: Energy intensity measured in terms of primary energy and GDP

– Indicator 9.4.1: CO2 emissions per unit of value added

– Indicator 11.2.1: Proportion of population with convenient access to public transport

– Indicator 13.2.1: Number of countries strengthening capacity for climate change measures

4. Table presenting the findings:

Behold! This splendid article springs forth from the wellspring of knowledge, shaped by a wondrous proprietary AI technology that delved into a vast ocean of data, illuminating the path towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Remember that all rights are reserved by SDG Investors LLC, empowering us to champion progress together.

Source: bbc.com

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