- State EV tax credit support stands at about 50%
- About 80% of EV owners will buy one without the benefits
- Three in five Americans want state and local EV incentives if Trump kills the federal debt
Even as the Trump Administration is expected to focus on buying electric vehicles, they are actually popular among car buyers, according to a new survey published by California-based EV advocacy group Veloz.
The survey, conducted by Probolsky Research for Veloz, asked respondents whether the government should provide these incentives – and 67% answered yes. However, that number dropped to 50% when respondents were asked about the federal government directly.
Adding to the problem of this image, 61% of respondents said they want local and national governments to “increase their support and investment in electric vehicles” if the federal government ends EV incentivesas California has promised to do if the Trump Administration rolls out the $7,500 EV tax credit.
US consumer interest in EVs (from 2024 Veloz poll)
If state and local governments do not step up and provide this support, the EV sales momentum may not be completely stopped, the survey said. The majority of current EV owners (78.2%) said you will still choose EV without any incentives lowering the price of the vehicle, as did 38.1% of non-EV owners.
These results are based on a sample of adults in California, Texas, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania (excluding the Philadelphia metro), Georgia, Michigan, Washington, Colorado, Hawaii, and Maryland. Veloz and Probolsky Research claim this sample accurately represents the demographic characteristics of each country.
Michigan had one of the lowest rates for those who don't currently own an EV to consider. As a post-election report recently suggested, a high-profile pro-Trump disinformation campaign (unanswered by Democratic nominee Harris) may have been more effective in swaying public opinion—perhaps in a way that sticks beyond the election.
2025 Kia Niro EV
Regarding the specific reasons for not choosing an EV, this survey emphasizes, along with many others before it, i cost is the prohibitive partwith charging and battery concerns coming after that. Almost half (48.4%) listed the cost of buying an EV as their biggest concern, with 38.7% citing charging and maintenance costs and 38.3% expressing concern that the batteries will not last long enough.
However cost savings was also a top reason for considering EV. Saving money on electricity was the main reason for both EV owners (51.9%) and non-owners (60.3%), followed by improving air quality.
So it seems that the sensitivity to cost reduction in both ways, consumers who may worry that spending less money on electricity will be canceled out by the higher purchase price and charging costs. That's certainly something that motivation can help to deal with.