New study reveals surprising truth about Americans' car-buying habits — here are the details

Yahoo

3 days ago

AAA has delivered its 2025 survey on our EV-buying habits. When asked why they are interested in buying an EV, almost three-quarters of Americans polled (74%) gave "save on gas" as their main reason.
Not too far behind came "concern for the environment," with almost six out of ten people listing it as a reason. The takeaway: people care about the environment, but prioritize saving money just a bit more.
The next most popular reason was "low maintenance and repair costs" (47%), followed by tax credits and rebates (39%), then — in a result that may show just how normalized EV tech has become — just over a fifth (22%) said that cutting-edge tech was a factor.
Near the bottom, just one in ten people said they were interested because they think their state might ban gasoline engines.
While gas car bans may seem a long way off in America, it's not as futuristic as we may think. In 2022, California adopted a resolution to ban the sale of new tailpipe pollution-releasing vehicles by 2035. Plus, about a dozen states have agreed to follow suit.
The bad news? Less than one in six of U.S. adults admit to being "very likely" or "likely" to purchase a fully electric vehicle as their next car, the annual survey's lowest recorded interest level since 2019, from the organization formerly known as the American Automobile Association. The percentage saying they would be "unlikely" or "very unlikely" to purchase an EV went up from 51% to 63%, the highest percentage for that question since 2022.
And the pessimism continued when people were asked if they think most cars will be electric within a decade. In 2022, four out of ten said yes. In 2025, it was 23%, almost half that number.
And some myths persevere — or are overblown in people's minds. Of respondents, 62% said that high battery repair costs were an issue, despite new studies showing that many EV batteries now often match or even outlast gasoline engines. Plus, 31% of those who were undecided or unlikely to buy an EV said they had "safety concerns."
In addition, over half (55%) are still saying they're afraid of running out of charge while driving.
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