Americans Cold On Electric Vehicles Despite Red-Hot Tesla Model 3 - Forbes

Tesla appeal moving from adopters to majority.

Credit: J.D. Powers

Though Americans are still overwhelmingly uninterested in EVs, the Model 3 is a global bestseller anyway.

Only 4% have owned an EV

In survey results released by Costa Mesa, Calif.-based J.D. Powers this past week, a “mere 4% of respondents” have owned an EV while almost 70 percent have never been in one (which, to be clear, is similar to past J.D. Power results).

That 4 percent figure is only slightly better than the 2.6% figure for the EV share of new U.S. car sales in September 2019, according to the Edison Electric Institute.

Going into 2020, it’s still wall to wall gas engine* cars on U.S. highways and at dealerships across America.

There are exceptions like California, which in 2018 had close to an 8 percent EV market share. But even in EV-friendly markets like Los Angeles (where I live), it depends heavily on your zip code. Outside of tony enclaves and upscale neighborhoods in Los Angeles, EVs are virtually absent.

Tesla more popular in some European countries than most states in the U.S.

In countries like the Netherlands, EVs, and the Tesla Model 3 specifically, are best sellers.

Tesla’s Model 3 recently became the Netherlands’ most popular vehicle, surpassing the VW Polo. The Polo is not available in the U.S., but it is one of the best selling cars in Europe, Africa, and Asia, selling over 12 million units worldwide.

–“Tesla Model 3 sets another record in the Netherlands,” Teslarati, September 27, 2019

And J.D. Powers in a separate report noted that “when the Tesla Model 3 arrived in Europe in February, sales jumped immediately...[the Model 3] became the highest-selling electric vehicle (EV) in its first month.”

Even in the highly-competitive Chinese EV market, Tesla sales appears to be surging, due mostly to the Model 3.

Piper Jaffray estimates Tesla’s third quarter deliveries – a closely watched measure of the company’s sales – in China are up more than 175% compared to the same period last year.

“Even in a market like China, where EV models are commonplace ... Teslas are among the only electric vehicles (EVs) that consumers actually want to buy,” Piper Jaffray said.

–“A look at auto insurance registration data in China may show Tesla sales surging,” CNBC, September 26, 2019.

WASHINGTON, DC- JULY 01: The General Motors EV1 Electric Car is on display during the grand opening ... [+] of National Museum Of American History's Innovation Wing at the National Museum Of American History on July 1, 2015 in Washington DC. (Photo by Kris Connor/ Getty Images)

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America, the country that invented the mass-market EV, also killed two EVs

General Motors, with the EV1, was the first automaker to release a mass-produced electric vehicle. But GM killed that groundbreaking car in 2002. Then it came out with the Chevy Volt in 2010, an EV with a range-extending gas engine. But that never gained anything close to mass appeal in the U.S., so GM killed the Volt too.

It was Tesla that invented the first true mass-produced EV with the Model S. And it is Tesla that’s proving that, with the Model 3, an EV can have appeal beyond just hard-core early adopters.

But the biggest prize is the average car-buying, gas-engine thumping American.

I hear GM is planning an electric Hummer. That may be a good start.

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Notes:

*That includes what I would describe as fake EVs. Cars like the classic Toyota Prius.

Edison Electric Institute cites InsideEVs.com, HybridCars.com, and GoodCarBadCar.net as sources for the 1.8 percent U.S. EV market figure.

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