40 Percent Of Americans Are Unaware Of The $7,500 Federal Tax Credit: Survey

Electric vehicle market awareness substantially varies across certain groups and communities.

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Suvrat Kothari

By: Suvrat Kothari

Nov 6, 2023 at 11:16am ET

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The $7,500 federal clean vehicle credit, introduced last year as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, was a big step in America's move toward electrification. Both U.S. car companies and the government have really pushed for people to take advantage of these incentives. But a recent poll indicated that most Americans don't even know about these tax credits that are up for grabs.

Bluelabs, an analytics company headquartered in Washington DC, conducted a poll that shed light on the poor awareness regarding EVs within specific demographic groups and communities across the country.

Only 22 percent of the respondents had heard “a great deal” or “a good amount” about the federal clean vehicle credit, according to Bluelabs. In contrast, 40 percent of them said they had no clue about it. Furthermore, the poll revealed that black and Hispanic Americans had the lowest awareness regarding EV tax credits, with 50 percent of black respondents and 47 percent of Hispanic respondents indicating they had no knowledge of these incentives whatsoever.

While Hispanic and black Americans may have shown the least awareness of the tax credits, they also exhibited the greatest interest in a future EV purchase. However, 43 percent of white Americans said they would not choose an EV, the highest percentage among all racial groups.

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EV preferences also varied by political leanings. Democrats were far more likely to consider purchasing an EV compared to Republicans, but awareness about the federal clean vehicle credit was low among both groups. Forty-seven percent of Democrats living in rural areas said they might buy an EV, compared to just six percent of Republicans living in rural areas. However, it’s worth noting that Republicans and Democrats from urban areas were more likely to buy an EV.

Bluelabs told InsideEVs that it surveyed a mixed pool of 2,422 adults between August 22-30, 2023. Even though that's a fairly large pool of respondents, it's hard to say if it would be representative of a nationwide trend, so it’s probably a good idea to interpret these findings with some caution for now.

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“Bluelabs goes to great lengths to make sure its surveys are a representative sample of the US population. Bluelabs balances the challenges of declining polling response rates by conducting surveys via SMS, cell, landline, online, and text-to-web. These techniques allow us to reach more representative people to increase accuracy,” a spokesperson told InsideEVs.

That said, if you’re an InsideEVs reader, you're likely already familiar with the federal tax credit. However, if you're not, here's a brief overview: The IRS offers tax credits to eligible buyers of new or used BEVs and PHEVs. The maximum credit available is $7,500 for vehicles with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) under 14,000 pounds, and up to $40,000 for all other vehicles. It's important to note that not all EVs on the market qualify for these benefits; only those manufactured in the US that meet the critical minerals requirement. As of June 2023, only five BEV manufacturers met the criteria.

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