American interest in electric vehicles appears to be holding up better than expected, even as EV tax credits disappear, automakers rethink their electric plans and battery-electric sales lose momentum. According to a recent JD Power survey cited by InsideEVs, 26% of US car shoppers said they were “very likely” to consider buying an EV.
The latest survey result represents a three-point increase from the previous month. At the same time, the share of shoppers who said they were “very unlikely” to consider an EV fell by four percentage points to 18%.
JD Power has been tracking consumer interest in electrified vehicles since 2021, and April was only the third time that more than one quarter of respondents landed in the “very likely” category. Brent Gruber, executive director of JD Power’s EV practice, said the result was somewhat surprising given the end of the federal EV tax credit.
One major factor appears to be fuel cost. The source report notes that gasoline prices have risen sharply, with a gallon now costing more than $4.50 after being just under $3 before the war with Iran. Gruber suggested that elevated gas prices have remained high long enough to influence how shoppers think about electric vehicles.
However, interest does not automatically translate into sales. Battery-electric vehicles have accounted for roughly 6-7% of the US new-car market so far this year, down from around 8% in 2024 and 2025. That gap raises a key question: why are many shoppers interested in EVs, but far fewer are actually buying them?
Affordability continues to be one of the biggest obstacles. Gruber said the issue has become more difficult since the federal tax credit ended. Younger buyers are often the most interested in EVs, but they are also less likely to have the budget to purchase one.
Among shoppers who said they were very unlikely to buy an EV, more than half said they would not pay any price premium for an electric car. That suggests purchase price remains just as important as range or charging availability for many skeptical buyers.
The survey also shows that many EV holdouts have demanding expectations. A large number of reluctant buyers said they would need public chargers to be no more than 50 miles apart before considering an EV. Gruber argued that this is already true across much of the country, but many consumers are not aware of how much charging infrastructure exists.
Range expectations are even more striking. Nearly three-quarters of the least EV-friendly respondents said they would need at least 500 miles of range before considering an electric car. JD Power’s research, however, indicates that the average American takes only two to three road trips per year, typically covering 200 to 300 miles.
According to Gruber, range anxiety tends to decline once people actually own an electric vehicle. In other words, some of the strongest objections to EVs may be based more on perception than real-world use.
That creates an education challenge for the auto industry. If shoppers believe they need 500 miles of range or much denser charging coverage, they may dismiss EVs even when current products already meet most of their daily driving needs.
One of the more concerning findings from JD Power’s research is that dealers appear to be doing less to educate shoppers about EVs since the tax credit expired. Gruber said consumer education across different EV-related topics has been declining.
That could make it harder to convert interest into actual sales. With EV consideration still relatively strong, automakers and dealers may need to focus less on convincing people that EVs exist and more on explaining charging, real-world range, total ownership costs and available incentives.
