Almost 50% of American EV Owners Want to Go Back to Gas-Powered Cars
Trump Promises to Reverse Biden’s “Crazy” EV Mandate
I have been monitoring the concerns being raised about electric vehicles (EVs) for Legal Insurrection, especially in light of the relentless promotion by politicians and politically connected eco-activists.
The CEO of Toyota has reported most of his colleagues do not think EV-only transportation is sensible, practical, or realistic. EV drivers are experiencing “range anxiety,” and short trips have doubled or more in time due to charging times. Blackouts, especially during the summer heat waves, make reliance on EVs impractical.
Now, a new study shows that a significant share of Americans who own an EV have buyer’s remorse and want to switch back to vehicles with traditional internal combustion engines (ICE).
McKinsey & Co.’s Mobility Consumer Pulse for 2024, released this month, found that 46% of EV owners in the U.S. said they were “very” likely to switch back to owning a gas-powered vehicle in their next purchase.
The high percentage of Americans who want to make a switch even surprised the consulting firm.
“I didn’t expect that,” the head of McKinsey’s Center for Future Mobility, Philipp Kampshoff, told Automotive News. “I thought, ‘Once an EV buyer, always an EV buyer.’”
In the poll of nearly 37,000 consumers worldwide, Australia was the only country with a greater percentage, 49%, of EV owners than the U.S. who said they were ready to return to owning an internal combustion engine.
In 2021, Biden came into office promising the construction of 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations by 2030. We are less than six years away, yet only seven have been built, in large part because of the administrations Diversity-Equity-Inclusion policies.
And many charging stations have been stripped for their copper in various parts of the country.
The lack of convenient charging stations is the most common reason cited for the discontent with EVs. However, there are many others.
The primary reason cited by EV owners for wanting to switch back was the lack of available charging infrastructure, with 35 percent of respondents identifying this issue.
The second most common reason, mentioned by 34 percent, was the high total cost of owning an EV. Additionally, 32 percent of EV owners reported that their driving patterns on long-distance trips were adversely affected due to owning an EV.
The wildly inflated EV range claims aren’t helping, either.
“I’ve been road testing electric cars regularly for more than two years now, and not once has a battery-only vehicle met the claimed capacity for its battery,” wrote senior contributor Neil Winton. “The average shortfall is close to 20%.”
Tesla actually did better in his tests than some of the other EVs.
A report from Car & Driver last August found that only three cars it tested did better than the official EPA range estimate. Tesla’s Model S is supposed to go 348 miles on a charge but only made it 280 miles. Ford’s electric F-150 came up 70 miles short of its reported 300-mile range.
SAE International studied the performance of 21 EV models this year and found that, on average, the cars’ range was inflated by 12.5%. “Most (EVs) tested to date fall short of both their electric consumption and range label values,” the report finds. EVs, it turns out, do worse on long-distance trips than urban short hauls because constant braking helps recharge their batteries.
Recently, President Donald Trump indicated he would reverse the Biden-era mandates related to EVs.
In a recent meeting with House Republicans, former President Donald Trump declared his intention to completely reverse President Joe Biden’s electric vehicle (EV) policies if he is re-elected. Trump criticized the current administration’s push towards battery-powered cars, describing the mandate as “crazy,” according to Idaho Representative Russ Fulcher. He emphasized that, if given the opportunity, he would overturn Biden’s EV policies entirely.
Trump’s remarks, delivered at the Capitol Hill Club, reflect his longstanding opposition to electric vehicles. He has consistently argued that EVs are ineffective and detrimental to American autoworkers, suggesting they primarily benefit countries like China and Mexico. Virginia Representative Morgan Griffith also highlighted Trump’s sentiment, noting that Trump believes Biden is forcing Americans into buying electric cars, which he deems unreasonable.
It appears that many EV owners have learned some valuable lessons about the utopian promises made about this green technology, and Trump may find many new supporters in the group.
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Comments
My son just bought his Tesla today, actually bought it earlier and is picking it up as I type.
He’s so woke, couldn’t talk him out of it
Should have tried to convince him to get a hybrid. Better for the environment and a better car.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1E8SQde5rk
At least you tried. But, the deleterious and inconvenient realities of the EV experience will soon intrude upon his woke fantasies.
There are some lessons that can only be learned the hard way.
Quite a number, overwhelming majority, of people who buy Tesla’s seem to like them. I think that is due to the fact they are expensive and Tesla owners are more educated than the average car buyer so already know the limitations of EV’s and factored that in. People that buy the cheaper ones just want to be trendy and then find out what a PITA they are. Another big problem is that none of them except 1 Tesla model I can find come close to the advertised range. Average is over 20% less than claimed and even more in cold climates. Another problem is the used market. There really isn’t one. Claims that the used EV market has risen 30% year over year are very difficult to verify and the market is extremely small anyways. If you sold 100 used EV’s in 2022 and 130 in 2023 that’s 30% but nothing to brag about. The cost of replacing the batteries is prohibitive in the overall price of a used EV. Tesla claims their batteries last 300 to 500,000 miles or 10 to 20yrs with the giant caveat that they may degrade faster in hot climates for example. Deserts where solar power is most feasible.
And if they try the DOJ has a long list of charges ready to be brought against them – mostly crimes against humanity, murder of the Earth, treason by supporting Putin in buying gas, and the like – and will have them tried in Portland to insure swift convictions.
Might not be the DOJ but rather the EV manufacturers themselves: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNPmahwV0NQ
If only they let things evolve naturally. But EVs and the like, being shoved down the throat prematurely, is the stupid approach by the ilellectuals and elites.
Never addressing the unforeseen consequences of their stupidity, even after smart people with dirty feet warn them.
The people who bought EVs are stupid, and half of them are very stupid.
Who are the people dumb enough to buy things this expensive without knowing that they actually want them?
A great many consumers in our ‘disposable’ culture do so. How many folks buy a product due to the label or brand icon out of vanity v the functionality/utility of their choice? Lots of consumer debt and home mortgage loans due to these factors. Then add fashionable trends and keeping up with Jones to the mix.
I owned a Taycan for just under a year. While I didn’t want it, I was encouraged to buy one because there was another Porsche I did want, but I hadn’t owned enough (new) Porsches to get on the list for that car. They took the car back on trade when my ‘target’ car eventually came in. This isn’t the reason everyone buys a Taycan. But, it is the reason quite a few people end up with Taycans, at least for a little while. I know a lot of Porsche owners. I haven’t met anyone who’s kept their Taycan for more than 24-mos.
“electric cars account for 1% of all registered vehicles on the road in the U.S., according to Experian Automotive’s Market Trends third quarter 2023 report.” –EDMUNDS
So, while it’s true that 50% of the dumb ones are waking up, the numbers involved say little about the overall percentage of trend-slave idiots in the US.
(This number is not immediately presented in a search, by the way. Most hits (press releases) talk about significant percentage increases in EV sales in some recent quarter or year, which is hype of the “fastest-growing (because it’s actually the tiniest)” style of fallacy. However, I got a good laugh out of being informed that “California has the highest EV adoption rate (2.5%),” supporting the theory that Californians are more than twice as stupid as the average American.)
Maybe the California purchases are not out of stupidity. but out of a desire to drive carpool lanes when traveling alone.
Jill has to plug Joe in every night or he won’t run.
Now that’s funny!!!
Joe’s Lightning Port requires genuine lightning.
“EVs, it turns out, do worse on long-distance trips than urban short hauls because constant braking helps recharge their batteries.”
This was EV 101. Anyone dumb enough to get range anxiety and take a cross country trip in an EV is a fool that deserves to be parted from their money.
And yet there are people out there buying all-electric motorhomes. SMH.
I loved when I pulled up to gas stations to see those idiots over at the “fast charge” EV stations that have to wait at least an hour while I zip in and out.
Maybe we will see a cultural resurgence of roadside inns, like the stagecoach stops used to offer.
(My entire town was founded as such a stagecoach stop. The original RR hotel is still standing, and was recently restored by an ambitious entrepreneur.)
Have people forgotten the fiasco that road trip in an EV Granholm did already?
People are learning very quickly that EV’s are based on an old and inferior technology, as compared to internal combustion engines. The presence of a battery-based drivetrain doesn’t make EV’s technologically superior to gas-powered vehicles.
The practical benefits of owning an EV are non-existent. Faster acceleration is a meaningless feature when refueling/charging takes forever; battery performance is constantly compromised by cold or hot weather (and, by using the heater or air conditioning); range anxiety never goes away; the battery has a limited lifespan and costs a small fortune to replace; the car is an appalling fire hazard, in a crash (or, at other times); tires wear more quickly, because of EV’s higher weights; etc., etc.
EV’s are virtue-signaling toys, badges and flags for narcissistic Dhimmi-crats. That’s it. Few people who actually rely upon their vehicles for transporting heavy loads, commuting long distances, taxiing passengers, etc., are using these things.
Yes and no. I have talked to several people while they were charging. A few would never get another one but a couple didn’t mind them. One guy at a WalMart worked for the city and could charge his car for free at their charger while he was working so it made sense for him to get one. Outside of that he wasn’t a fan of standing around for an hour on the weekend in a parking lot.
There will be anecdotal exceptions, of course. I’m talking about the vast majority of Americans who need pick-up trucks for their business or jobs — landscapers, contractors, construction workers, etc. Sure, there’s a couple of Lyft/Uber drivers who operate Teslas — the vast majority of taxi drivers aren’t, and, that won’t change. These working-class folks are not buying EV’s en masse. It ain’t happening.
I’m not disagreeing with you. I was pointing out that in specific circumstances like that guy who got free charging while he worked they might make sense. As you say, for 75% or more of our population not so much.
Let’s be fair – fast acceleration is about the most fun one gets in a car … save some old back-seat antics. People are willing to trade lots and lots and lots of things for a few moments of a rocket slide experience. I mean … drag racing is a thoroughly American endeavor.
Don’t confuse life with hobby. People don’t get drag racers and then commute to work in them, any more than they take out private plane licenses and fly those to work.
Sure, I get that. And, I love sports cars as much as anyone. That said, my point is that the one engineering/performance trait in which EV’s beat out (most) gas-powered cars doesn’t even remotely compensate for their myriad other flaws and negative attributes.
JRE talks about his Tesla, I think it’s a Plaid, and says it is ridiculously fast. I believe he calls it a “time machine” it’s so fast. He loves it but still loves his gas powered cars more as there is nothing like hearing that engine.
The visceral and primal thrill of hearing a combustion engine rev up can never be duplicated in an EV.
In five years Tesla will be a division of GM. (NASA will be a division of SpaceX and Musk will sell X at a profit.) You heard it here first.
I’ll give you two out of three. I really do believe that Musk bought Twitter out of principle, not to make a profit. He’s already been burned by “trusted friends” to whom he has left other companies of his under conditions that later got flouted, and I suspect he will avoid making that mistake again.
I’ll take it. I actually agree with you (but was having some fun).
Musk is primarily a salesman. He’s very good at selling the sizzle, but tends to delegate the making of the “steaks”.
Imagine how terrifying it would be to take an EV on a tour of our western parks and wilderness areas. Absent chargers, basic services, or even cell phone availability, you would be totally dependent on the remaining charge in your battery.
In the 1950’s, I remember seeing an ancient electric car at the Museum of Science and Industry and learning electric cars faded away because of battery range.
Nothing really has changed over the years!
If I got EV for free I would sell it. They are liability.
I would pay someone to take it away. Far away.
And most of the ones that say they don’t want to go back are convinced that ‘upgrades’ are just around the corner and that EVs will magically solve all the problems that they have.
I know it is not possible, but I kind of like the idea of finding some way to force those who bought EV’s to keep using them and not allow them to go back to ICE vehicles. So they can be pointed to and laughed at as object lessons. If nothing else of the cost of being an early adopter before a technology is even semi-mature.
Subotai Bahadur
Never go full early adopter.
Toyota, Hyundai, plus BMW, Land Rover, and some no name brands are all experimenting with hydrogen as a new fuel source. It’s not what the EV crowd want however so is getting zero government support.
Well, that and the practical problem that there’s no affordable way to get hydrogen doesn’t help.
Nor does the inherent difficulty and danger of storing it.
As the smallest elemental molecule, hydrogen readily leaks through most materials, especially when pressurized.
And even with containers that can hold it, any microscopic cracks on the inside become impregnated with it, to where it’s never completely empty.
I seem to remember NASA having a problem right now with that inherent difficulty with their Boeing spacecraft at the ISS. ; – )
Subotai Bahadur
My neighbors wife has one, she uses it around town. For long trips they drive his Tundra to haul the camper.
I have two vehicles, both gas. My pick up is for towing and hauling heavier stuff, my crossover does double duty as an around town vehicle and medium range to the deer property vehicle. I try to keep the mileage off the truck as it doesn’t have the nanny bullschiff the new pieces of garbage have.
Electric wouldn’t make a round trip to the deer property and charging stations are few and far between. Not interested in paying more for a hybrid when the crossover is way cheaper and the break even on the hybrid is probably an extra 5 years at least compared to gas.
EV’s make sense for a certain segment of the population but that is about it. I think they will never be more than a niche vehicle. All the mandates about buying them have not kicked in yet and most people are not paying attention. When they do I think the uproar will put an end to it and it will be voluntary especially when people start getting a mileage tax to use the roads which requires a giant bill once a year at inspection or the government monitoring peoples movements and sending them a bill once a month. I don’t think people will care for that much.