46% of EV owners regret purchase, ready to switch back to gas

According to a report from Automotive News, consulting firm McKinsey & Co. found that 46 percent of U.S. respondents who currently own an electric vehicle (EVs) are likely to buy an ICE-powered vehicle as their next car purchase, with charging concerns standing out as the largest hindrance toward the gradual transition to all-electric vehicles.

Beyond this, McKinsey & Co. also found that 29 percent of electric vehicle owners worldwide are likely to switch to gasoline vehicles, citing the same concerns.

“I didn’t expect that,” McKinsey & Co. Center for Future Mobility Leader Philipp Kampshoff remarked. “I thought, ‘Once an EV buyer, always an EV buyer.’”

“OEMs and suppliers now have to invest in multiple technologies,” McKinsey & Co. Automotive and Assembly Practice Global Co-Leader Kevin Laczkowski stated. “This is the ultimate uncertainty right now, like almost never before.”

Interestingly, electric vehicle owners appear to be experiencing buyer’s remorse due to inadequate public charging infrastructure, high ownership costs, and limitations with long trips.

Related Article: Automotive: Ford losing billions on EVs

McKinsey & Co. found a few other notable pieces, including:

21 percent of global respondents have no interest in ever switching to an all-electric vehicle. Of those, 33 percent cited charging concerns.
Said charging concerns are exacerbated by range-related expectations, where minimum range expectations have grown from 270 miles in 2022 to 291.4 miles today.