U.S. market may not be ready for electric vehicles: 'Buyers expect their vehicles to be affordable'

A new study finds that getting car buyers to adopt electric cars might be harder than experts think.

Deloitte’s survey revealed that only 5% of all Americans expected the next vehicle they purchase to be fully electric, with only 22% saying they would buy some sort of hybrid vehicle. The majority of the U.S. respondents still prefer vehicles with an internal combustion engine.

“Buyers expect their vehicles to be affordable,” Ryan Robinson, Deloitte’s Automotive Research Leader, told Road & Track. “Fully 74% of those intending to buy an electric expect their next vehicle to cost less than $50,000. With the average price of a new vehicle already approaching $40,000, that’s a very narrow band for electrics.”

These results also show that most people are willing to make the jump to electric vehicles only if they are at least as good as their gas-powered counterparts and are affordable.

Deloitte’s “2022 Global Automotive Consumer Study” surveyed 26,000 customers in 25 countries and is used to predict buyer expectations that will drive the automotive market in the coming years.

South Korean consumers showed the highest interest in battery electric vehicles (BEVs), Deloitte reported. In South Korea, 23% of those surveyed said they expected their next car purchase to be a BEV.