What Drives EV Adoption Now? – CleanTechnica

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In China and Europe, there aren’t really many concerns. Electric vehicle adoption continues to go up, and policies in place in those major markets as well as the natural technological learning curve mean that EV sales will continue to grow year after year, replacing polluting, costly, inefficient fossil-fueled vehicles. In the United States, though … we’ve got issues.

The US EV market was growing slower than the Chinese or European EV market, but it was growing nonetheless. Across the first three quarters of the year, EV sales totaled 1,047,539 in the US, up from 943,285 in Q1–Q3 2024, 871,488 in Q1–Q3 2023, 579,168 in Q1–Q3 2022, 339,688 in Q1–Q3 2021, and 161,742 in Q1–Q3 2020. I don’t think I need to go any further back than that; it’s clear EV sales have been growing in the United States.

Yes, we know that the 3rd quarter (10.6% EV share of the auto market) was a special quarter, so its comparison to 8.7% share in October 2024 is misleading, and market share was similar in the first half of 2025 as the first half of 2024, so perhaps you can say that the market was already stagnating for various reasons. Now, though, the $7,500 EV tax credit is gone. The $4,000 tax credit for used EVs, making it easier for original owners to sell their cars at a good price and buy new EVs, is also gone. So, on the consumer demand side, there’s clearly going to be a hit unless automakers drastically cut their EV prices, and they’re not doing that.

On the automaker side, there are other issues. For decades, automakers have been required to meet certain fleet efficiency standards or pay the consequence. Those requirements have gotten automakers to make and sell electric vehicles, especially as the standards have been raised. However, the Trump administration, aside from watering down the standards, has decided it will not punish automakers if they don’t meet the requirements. Are automakers sticking to their commitments anyway and doing what they should? Apparently not. Some companies have said they are not going to sell EVs in the US that they had planned to sell here, and others have talked about reducing or even stopping their production of certain EV models.

It’s hard to not be a little down at this moment in time about all of this. The US EV market could well shrink. Automakers are showing little to no conviction or morals. And Tesla has tainted itself with the extreme political activities of CEO Elon Musk. (Heard of him?)

However, let’s not forget the biggest selling points of electric vehicles. They drive better. They are more convenient for most new-car buyers, who can typically charge at home (note that 93% of new-car buyers are homeowners). And they have significantly lower operational costs. Years ago, before electric cars were nearly as mainstream as they are today and when the EV options were much worse, there was a simple but highly effective method for getting more people to go electric — “butts in seats.” Give someone a ride in your EV — or, better yet, let them drive it around the block — and they will almost always be wowed, extremely impressed, and suddenly have a lot more questions about the car and EVs more generally. The driving experience is just better, and the instant torque stimulates laughs and can be infectious.

Electric cars do not lose their superior drive quality and greater convenience just because the Trump government doesn’t want people to buy them and is changing policies accordingly. It’s true that telling someone they could get a $7,500 tax credit for buying an EV was a great way to get a conversation going and stimulate a purchase, but there are other ways as well! It’s time to get back to: “Check out this car! Look at what it can do. Isn’t the quiet powertrain wonderful? Here, come to a full stop and then step on it.”

Electric vehicles being better vehicles is going to continue landing them sales. Word of mouth is going to continue acting as the best marketing for EVs. But the more we can get out and share our experiences with EVs, and create experiences for others, the better this goes. How many EV sales will this lead to? Can the EV market maintain its 2025 level in 2026? Could it even grow? Will it drop dramatically?

There’s also another factor, but it’s a more long-term one. As we’ve written recently, battery technology has improved dramatically in the past decade or so, but those improvements have quite consistently gone into increasing the driving range of electric cars — from 75 miles in a 2011 Nissan LEAF to 305 miles in a 2026 Nissan LEAF, for example, despite even cutting the price a bit. At this point, it’d be ridiculous to keep increasing the range rather than focusing on driving down cost. As battery technology continues to improve and battery costs continue to come down, EVs can get more and more cost-competitive with conventional gas-powered vehicles. Combined with their operational cost savings, this could become a big driver of EV sales — since you get more car and tech for less money. However, we are not really there yet. Perhaps we are there in higher premium segments, but not yet in mass-market segments.

Overall, there are now millions of electric vehicles on the road in the United States. As with adoption of other new, better tech, those products should increase exposure and inspire more purchases. But that also relies on exposure, especially EV owners talking about their EVs and showing them off. Let’s get on it!

Given the title at the top, I should close with one more thing, though. Another thing that is going to drive EV adoption is more charging stations. Jake Richardson keeps highlighting new charging stations being installed across the country, and he keeps making this point, which is what brought it to mind. Yes, as more chargers are put in, more people will see them and think about going electric, and more people will be able to conveniently charge on the go. The good news is that new EV charging stations are being installed on a daily basis.

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