Majority of electric car owners in US won't go back to petrol cars - study

According to a new McKinsey Mobility Consumer Insights survey, 76% of U.S. households that already own an electric vehicle also plan to choose an electric model in the future. This is up significantly from last year (56%) and is due to improvements in charging infrastructure, reliability, increased range and new, more affordable models.

Here's What We Know

EV owner satisfaction in the U.S. has increased from 60% in 2024 to 73% this year. Even in households that own both electric and petrol cars, the majority plan to move away from internal combustion engines. 59% of such households said they would replace their petrol car with an electric vehicle. Only 14% intend to buy another petrol car, while 24% would prefer a plug-in hybrid (PHEV).

Interestingly, among owners of only internal combustion engine cars (including plug-in hybrids), 31% plan to buy another one, while 35% say they will never buy an electric car. That means most of them aren't ready to make the switch just yet. Meanwhile, among PHEV owners - 52% plan to stay with the same technology.

There's also a noticeable gap in attitudes toward electric cars, depending on the part of the US. States like California, New York and Washington have already achieved a level of electric vehicle adoption comparable to Europe. But much of rural America is still sticking with internal combustion engine vehicles. Age plays an important role: more than half of those surveyed under the age of 45 said their next car will be electric. Generation X and baby boomers are largely uninterested in electric cars - especially outside of major cities.

McKinsey surveyed 26,000 people in key regions of the world, 3,000 in each major country, including 1,000 electric car owners and 2,000 owners of internal combustion engine vehicles. Only 12% of those surveyed in the US plan to buy an electric car next time - compared to 23% in Europe and 45% in China. 32% of Americans said they would never consider buying an electric car. In China, only 3% responded that way. There, a decade of subsidies, cheaper models and an advanced charging network play a role. In addition, many Chinese buyers have either never owned an internal combustion engine vehicle or had only one such experience before switching to electric vehicles.

The shift that China experienced about 10 years ago - the rise in popularity of PHEVs - is now being seen in the US. Only 7% of petrol car owners said their next car would be all-electric. However, 17% are ready to switch to plug-in hybrids. These people probably live in "charging deserts" or simply aren't ready to make the full transition to electric cars yet. For them, the PHEV could be a transitional step.

Source: InsideEVs