Consumer Interest in EVs Increases with High Gasoline Prices

Consumer interest in electric vehicles and other clean energy technologies is speeding up with the increasing gasoline prices across US and oil topping $100 per barrel.

According to AAA, gasoline prices, which reached a  record high of $4.33 on March 11, are about $1.35 higher than they were a year ago. According to the Northern Trust, household spending increases by more than $50 increase in monthly expenses of households.

As a result, more and more consumers are looking for an alternative to gas-chuggers, which accounts for the majority of US sales. In the week ending March 13, a quarter of Edmunds.com shoppers were considering hybrids, plug-in hybrids, or electric vehicles. This was an increase of 39% from the previous week and an increase of 84% from the same week in February.

More than two-thirds of Americans surveyed by consumer tracker Piplsay said in a report last week that they were worried about rising fuel prices, and 49% said that gasoline car operating costs were not affordable. Almost half of the people surveyed said that electric vehicles could be a viable alternative to internal combustion engine vehicles, Piplsay found.

EVs are gaining momentum as more and more major automakers are offering them at increasingly lower prices, reflecting the sharp drop in battery prices, which account for about 30% to 40% of vehicle costs. According to the International Energy Agency, global sales of electric vehicles in 2021 more than doubled to 6.6 million units, accounting for 9% of the global automobile market, up from 4.1% in the previous year.