Stalled sales: The Litany of reasons Why Americans Aren't Buying EVs Anymore

Facebook Tweet LinkedIn

Americans aren’t buying cars much now — and they are buying even fewer EVs. The drop in overall car sales is due to prices and because cars last longer, but the drop in EV sales is more complex.

EVs are more expensive than the equivalent gas-powered cars. New fossil fueled models have an average stick price of about $44,000 while EVs average about $10,000 higher. To make EV sales even more challenging, the incoming Trump administration will likely cut EVs’ $7,500 tax credit. This incentive has been considered critical to adoption.

All of which that means sales are about the same year over year and have spread little beyond early adopters.

Lack of charging stations
One of the reasons is that EV charging stations remain scarce, particularly outside large cities. Most owners have home chargers, but their value is limited for drivers who want to go more than 250 miles on a top-up. Charging stations often also have broken equipment and long lines.

Depending on the type of charger, charging times can take 30 minutes to 12 hours. Filling a gas tank takes about 10 minutes. The charging time is a major inconvenience.

Two other drawbacks are a challenge to EV sales. One is that they tear up tires more than gas-powered cars. The other is that EV batteries do not fully charge in extremely cold temperatures, which can reduce range by as much as 30%.