Costs, Policies Threaten EV Uptake in US

US President Joe Biden has put forward one ambitious pledge on accelerating electric vehicle (EV) deployment after another. Last week, Biden followed an earlier vow for 50% of US auto sales to be from EVs by 2030 with an even loftier goal: proposed tailpipe emission standards that would see EV market share take up 67% of new passenger car sales by 2032. In addition, California, which accounts for a whopping share of the US auto market, plans to phase out sales of new internal combustion engine vehicles by 2035. Still, headlines in recent weeks have focused on the notion that, despite policy drivers and Tesla-led price drops, upfront costs still pose a significant barrier to speeding up EV uptake in the US. The US still has much ground to cover. EVs made up just under 6% of new US vehicle sales in 2022, although in California the number was roughly 16%. A recent Morning Consult survey suggested that in a poll of US consumers who said they would not consider an EV, 64% said they were “too expensive.” Another widely cited survey from the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute and the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found nearly half of those surveyed indicated they were "unlikely" to consider an EV, and 60% of those cited cost as the top reason, with inadequate access to charging stations close behind.