Despite the Biden administration spending billions over the past four years trying to convince Americans to make the switch to electric vehicles (EVs), sales have stagnated, leading to enormous losses for EV manufacturers and lots full of unsold cars. Now, a new survey also suggests even those who did make the switch are looking to reverse course.
According to a survey out late last month from McKinsey & Co., 46 percent of EV owners in the U.S. said they were “very” likely to switch back to a gas-powered vehicle for their next purchase. This trend further suggests that liberal policymakers who attempted to create an “EV revolution” spurred on by the left’s radical climate agenda have not only failed at their goal but likely created a brewing political backlash in the process.
“I didn’t expect that,” Philipp Kampshoff, the head of McKinsey’s Center for Future Mobility, told Automotive News. “I thought, ‘Once an EV buyer, always an EV buyer.’”
One of the primary grievances voiced by EV owners is the logistical challenge of charging their vehicles. Many say it’s inconvenient to charge at home, either because American homes were never built for it or because it requires expensive upgrades to accommodate the chargers.
EV owners without garages face greater challenges, relying on commercial charging stations that are not only more expensive but also less available. For families managing busy schedules, spending hours waiting for an EV to charge is virtually impossible.
These problems become particularly acute during extreme weather events and in the wake of natural disasters – something that was on full display following Hurricane Beryl in Texas, when many EV owners were unable to find working charging stations. In cold weather, not only do EV batteries not last as long, they also take longer to charge. This past winter, some owners were forced to wait five hours or more just to charge their vehicles.
Moreover, EVs often prove to be more of a financial burden than many people anticipate. While advocates often justify the higher upfront cost of EVs with promises of long-term savings, customer dissatisfaction comes with the true cost of owning EVs accrued from massive battery replacement costs, range limitations, higher electricity bills, and other hidden costs. The cost of insuring an EV can also be substantially higher than that of a comparable gasoline-powered vehicle, due in part to higher repair costs and the specialized nature of EV parts.
EVs have also historically depreciated far faster than gas-powered cars. Many Americans may thus find themselves stuck in an EV they no longer want after finding out that their car’s value has collapsed in just a few years or even months.
Of course, all of these problems have been exacerbated by the Biden administration. Biden’s energy policies, in addition to making the cost of electricity more expensive, have threatened the reliability of the power grid – even as it experiences a surge of demand from new EVs.
The Biden administration has also imposed a new rule requiring EVs to make up 50 percent of all new car sales by 2030, despite ample evidence suggesting how unpopular that policy is. Last year EVs made up less than 10 percent of all new car sales in the U.S.
What’s worse, these regulations affect more than just the cost of EVs. They’re also leading to an increase in the price of gas-powered vehicles. When carmakers have to comply with regulations requiring that a certain percentage of their manufacturing be of EVs that don’t sell, they’re forced to make up for those losses by charging more for cars that do sell.
The Biden administration has also wasted billions of taxpayer dollars trying to force people into EVs that they don’t want. Biden allocated $5 billion to EV charging stations as part of the $1.2 trillion infrastructure law he signed 3 years ago. As of a few months ago, there have only been a handful of charging stations to show for the years-long investment. The government has sold Americans a false bill of goods and everyone, including EV owners and non-EV owners, are paying the price.
In short, the Biden administration has offered tax credits to buyers, and billions in government incentives to manufacturers, and even many Americans who opted for EVs don’t want them anymore. In light of this, it’s perhaps no wonder the administration has now resorted to government mandates effectively forcing people into EVs.
Americans know what cars they want – lawmakers and regulators in D.C. just need to let them choose.
Allison Schuster is a contributor for AMAC Newsline, the Federalist, American Greatness, and the Conservateur, as well as a proud 2021 graduate of Hillsdale College.
