Daniel Miller, The Motley Fool

Sat, Jun 7, 2025, 8:05 AM4 min read

• Survey results suggest cooling sentiment toward EVs.

• Consumers still hesitate when it comes to price and public charging infrastructure.

• The Trump administration is currently trying to pull back support for EVs.

• 10 stocks we like better than Rivian Automotive ›

Rivian (NASDAQ: RIVN) and Lucid Motors (NASDAQ: LCID) entered 2025 in different gears. Rivian was entering a year with no major vehicle launch, stagnating deliveries, and a lack of any visible catalysts, while Lucid has strung together six consecutive quarters of record deliveries and is ramping the production of its new Gravity SUV. One thing they both have in common is a growing, albeit more slowly than hoped, electric vehicle (EV) market. Here's the bad news: Some recent data says that the EV market sentiment looks to be souring.

Tesla changed the game when it made EVs "cool" for the first time. Since then, the hype surrounding EVs as the future of transportation has swept the globe, in some countries (like China) faster than in others. But according to a recent survey, that hype could be in decline in the U.S.

Interest in EVs spiraled to its lowest level since 2019, according to a consumer survey commissioned by AAA. Only 16% of respondents reported being "likely" or "very likely" to purchase an EV as their next vehicle, signaling consumer caution. The percentage of respondents who indicated they would be "unlikely" or "very unlikely" to purchase an EV as their next vehicle jumped from 51% to 63%, the highest mark since 2022. The percentage who believe that most cars will be electric within the next decade fell from 40% in 2022 to 23% this year.

Not only is interest in EVs down, there's also the lingering pessimism surrounding battery repair costs, total costs, and charging infrastructure -- a story as old as EVs themselves. More specifically, 62% of respondents noted high battery repair costs as a main reason for avoiding going electric, while purchase price was cited by 59% of respondents.

The hesitation when it comes to purchase price is understandable. The average transaction price for a new EV in March was $59,205, far higher than the overall average transaction price of $47,462, according to data from Cox Automotive. As far as consumer concerns go, 56% of respondents had the fear of running out of charge while driving, and 55% noted a lack of convenient public charging stations.

The waning consumer sentiment goes hand in hand with the Trump administration's effort to pull support from the EV industry. House Republicans passed a budget bill on May 22 that will reduce federal incentives for battery manufacturing, as well as other clean energy projects. If the Senate approves it, it would cut the section of the bill that provides the $7,500 EV tax credit.