We just reported about CarGurus' 2021 Electric Vehicle Sentiment Survey. The report is full of juicy morsels, such as people's opinions on the Tesla Cybertruck, GMC Hummer EV, and Ford F-150 electric. However, this article focuses on the impact of gas prices on .
We've read time and time again that low gas prices could hurt the EV industry, and it's highly likely they have. We've been fortunate to have pretty reasonable gas prices for a long time, but history is bound to repeat itself. If gas peaks to an average of around $4 per gallon, people start to really pay attention.
Think about it, many people simply need a reason to make a change. If something's not broken, why fix it? If people aren't struggling to afford gas or feeling forced to drive conservatively and limit trips, why would they rush to buy an electric car? On the other hand, you'd better bet that soaring gas prices will get everyone's attention. It could be the one thing that lights a fire related to EV adoption. No pun intended.
People pushing for EV adoption have hoped for rising gas prices for years. If gas is cheap, adoption will remain slow. If gas prices soar, people may buy an EV. Not surprisingly, CarGurus' survey makes this very clear.
As you can see from CarGurus' chart above, if gas prices hit $4 per gallon, about a quarter of the people surveyed would consider an electric car. At $5 per gallon, that number soars to more than double.
CarGurus also points out that rising gas prices could be "especially influential" to people who are already on the fence about buying an EV.
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There are several other related slides in the study, and they're certainly worth checking out. We've linked the PDF with all the slides in the first paragraph above. Give it a look and then scroll down and leave us your takeaways.
Source: CarGurus via Teslarati