Electric cars now rank alongside full-size pickup trucks in the American Automobile Association’s latest consumer preference survey.
“15% of participants said they were likely to purchase or lease an electric vehicle as their next car, against a 16% interest in leasing or purchasing a truck,” according to Green Car Reports. “Among millennials, the figure was even higher: 20% said they were likely to park an EV in their driveway in the coming years.”
- Concise headlines. Original content. Timely news and views from a select group of opinion leaders. Special extras.
- Everything you need, nothing you don’t.
- The Weekender: The climate news you need.
The biggest concern among potential buyers—30 million of them in the U.S., according to AAA—was range anxiety. “In the survey, 69% said there simply aren’t enough charging stations, and 68% of respondents feared they would run out of charge before reaching their destination.”
Nearly half of the survey respondents said their next vehicle would be a car, not a pickup, SUV, or crossover. But in 2016, plug-in hybrids and battery-electric cars still only grabbed about 1% of the U.S. market for 17.5 million new cars, Green Car Reports notes.
“Those figures continue to pale against the millions of full-size pickup trucks sold every year, with the Ford F-Series being the single bestselling vehicle lineup in the country for more than two decades running.” (h/t to CleanTechnica for pointing us to this report)
