*This content was translated by AI.
Consumer consideration ratios for electric vehicles (EVs), which had recently stagnated due to rising fuel prices, are showing signs of rebound. According to J.D. Power’s 2026 U.S. EV Consideration Survey, the percentage of new car buyers who responded that they are considering purchasing an EV very actively rose 3 percentage points month-over-month to 26% in April.
Meanwhile, the share of skeptical consumers who answered that they have no possibility of purchasing an EV dropped 4% from the previous month to 18%. Thanks to this sharp surge in consumer interest over April, the percentage of respondents who said they are considering purchasing an EV very actively reached 25% on a cumulative basis for the full year of 2026, a 1% increase year-over-year. This marks the first successful rebound since 2023, breaking the downward and stagnant trend that had persisted. Additionally, the share of potential consumers who said they are considering purchasing an EV to some extent remained steady at 35%, maintaining a solid trend.
Especially noteworthy is that this rebound occurred while the Trump administration has implemented strong policies to block EVs and protect internal combustion engine vehicles, including the complete elimination of the EV tax credit under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the nullification of greenhouse gas emission regulations and California’s own EV mandate policy (EV Mandate) through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Industry experts are paying close attention to the fact that despite the government’s all-out pressure, such as cuts to federal subsidies, and strong institutional headwinds, overall private demand and interest in EVs have not declined but have instead increased, driven by external shocks like the sharp rise in fuel prices. However, despite these positive signals, significant barriers still exist before actual purchases materialize.
It has been identified that at the psychological core of consumers’ firm refusal to purchase EVs lies uncompromising standards regarding cost and technical limitations. More than half of the respondents who answered that their likelihood of purchasing an EV is very low—56%—stated firmly that they have no intention of paying more than they would for an internal combustion engine vehicle. Moreover, 73% of consumers demanded that a single-charge driving range of at least 500 miles be secured before even considering an EV purchase. Regarding charging convenience, 43% of respondents answered that public charging stations must be as easy to find as existing gas stations.
In reality, experts explain that a significant amount of public charging infrastructure is already more widely available than public perception suggests, yet the gap between consumers’ perceived accessibility to charging stations and their psychological resistance remains large. Fortunately, based on the entire survey population, concerns about driving range and anxiety about public charging infrastructure are gradually easing. The second-largest barrier, charging time, also showed improvement, dropping 2 percentage points year-over-year to 44%. However, the burden of vehicle purchase prices continues to act as a powerful obstacle. The share of price as a reason for not purchasing an EV has risen from third to second among non-purchase factors, indicating that vehicle price competitiveness is once again emerging as a key variable for EV mass adoption amid recent economic pressures.
Furthermore, consumers who cannot install personal chargers at their homes or workplaces have seen their EV consideration ratios remain nearly stagnant for years. Expanding charging infrastructure in multi-family housing, shared living areas, and workplaces is identified as an urgent task that must be resolved to broaden the market’s scope. In conclusion, although the Trump administration’s pro-internal combustion engine policy stance has placed strong brakes on the market in the short term, rising fuel prices and the resulting actual maintenance cost burdens have become incentives that are drawing consumers’ attention back to EVs. However, to achieve a long-term and stable transition to EVs, it is expected that fundamental improvements in the market environment must precede, independent of government policy: the mass adoption of vehicle prices, a breakthrough extension of driving range, and the establishment of advanced, life-integrated charging infrastructure.
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*This content was translated by AI.
