April 16, 2024 | Lower-Income Americans and Republicans Least Likely to Switch to EVs
I explained how the private sector does not wish to switch to EVs amid high production costs and low demand. A recent Gallup Poll found that Americans do not want to own an EV, and the plans to eliminate fossil fuels do not align with the wishes of the people.
Around 7% of respondents, up 4% from last year, do own an EV. In 2023, 43% of respondents said they’d consider switching to electric, but that figure has declined to 35%. Fewer than half of adults, 44%, said they’d “seriously consider” or “might consider” buying electric in the future, down from 55% in 2023, while the number of people stating they have zero intention of switching rose to 48% from 41% on an annual basis.
We know that is cost more to purchase an EV, hence upper-income respondents are more likely to own or consider owning an EV and that figure declines when we look at middle America, and further declines when we look at the working class. In fact, 61% of lower-income Americans said they would never switch to electric, an 18 percentage point rise from 2023.
Liberals are also more likely to own or consider owning an EV. Only 27% of Democrats said they would not consider switching compared to 69% of Republicans and 47% of Independents. The study found that lower-income and young Americans are most concerned about climate change, but only 8% of people overall who worry “a great deal” about fossil fuel cars impact on the environment actually own one.
Still, the government is pushing full speed ahead to ensure 60% of new vehicle production is electric by 2030 – six years from now. I explained how manufacturing is not expanding under these climate change initiatives. The private sector does not want to produce these vehicles and the people do not want to buy them. Yet, the Biden Administration will stick to these arbitrary targets if re-elected this November.
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Martin Armstrong April 16th, 2024
Posted In: Armstrong Economics