American Drivers Would Want Up To $13k In Cash If Forced To Switch To EVs, Study Finds

The average American driver would expect a $5,988 cash payment from the government if they were forced out of their combustion cars and into an EV, a study has found.

Figures varied across the country, with pushover Wyomingites happy to settle for just $3,131 in hard currency, while business-minded folk in New Hampshire claimed they wouldn’t swap gas for volts for less less than $12,698.

The data comes from Gunther Volkswagen Delray Beach, who asked 3,021 drivers across the United States what it would take to get them into an EV. Obviously some of those drivers will have already made the switch, but many of those yet to give up their ICE vehicles believed that the current government incentives didn’t go far enough. Almost half (49 percent) of those surveyed think the government should offer cash incentives rather than trying to lure drivers into EVs with tax credits, as it does today.

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Asked for their primary motivation behind switching to EVs, should they make the move based on the current situation, 43 percent of those asked said it was about helping make the planet cleaner. But 27 percent said they would do it to claim available tax credits, 18 percent said they’d swap to save on fuel and maintenance costs and 7 percent liked the idea of driving solo in carpool lanes. Interestingly, given that supercar-like acceleration is one of the most talked about facets of an EV, only 5 percent said they’d make the switch to enjoy owning a speedier car.

Confusingly, the survey simultaneously highlighted a feeling that electrification wasn’t happening fast enough, and also a reluctance to do anything about it. While 65 percent of drivers believed electrification isn’t happening sufficiently quickly to combat climate change, and a massive 88 percent doubted California would be able to electrify every car on the road inside 30 years, only one in 10 drivers supported the idea of banning combustion vehicles from cities and major urban areas.