New Poll Shows Widespread Bipartisan Interest in Electric Cars

picture-7019-1570723309.jpg
on

The vast majority of Americans have a positive impression of electric vehicles (EVs), according to a newly released nationwide survey of registered voters by Climate Nexus.

The poll, conducted in partnership with Yale University’s Program on Climate Change Communication and George Mason University’s Center for Climate Change Communication, finds that 77 percent of American voters have a positive opinion of electric cars. This strong majority carried across all demographic groups, with seven out of every 10 self-identified Republican voters viewing electric vehicles positively.

While the overall impressions are positive, the poll also reveals some gaps in awareness about the electric car market and EV technology. Only 18 percent of respondents claimed to have seen, read, or heard “a lot” about electric vehicles, and more than one-quarter answered they had heard “not much” or “nothing at all.”  

This information void allows groups that are threatened by the potential of electric cars — like oil producers and refiners — to spread misinformation about plug-in vehicles in an effort to trick Americans into thinking that these cars are only for the rich or impractical for most use.

Groups in the Koch network have been consistently spreading false talking points by funding deceptive reports and studies and planting dozens of op-eds and commentaries across a number of conservative media outlets. 

Still, even with this relatively low level of awareness, nearly half of American voters surveyed said they were either very likely (12 percent) or somewhat likely (32 percent) to consider an electric vehicle for their next car purchase or lease. These figures largely echo — with some distinctions in how they were framed — the findings of a survey by AAA released last year that found that one in five American drivers wanted their next car to have a plug instead of a tailpipe.

The Climate Nexus poll also revealed the importance of incentives in converting this growing interest in EVs into increased market share. The federal electric vehicle tax credit proved popular across party lines, with nearly three-quarters of American voters overall (and 71 percent of Republican voters) claiming that a $7,500 tax incentive would make it more likely for them to purchase an electric vehicle.

Despite its bipartisan popularity, that tax credit is facing a persistent coordinated attack by the Koch network and other oil interests, who understand its importance in helping develop the new market.

While incumbent oil interests often present these EV incentives as expensive government handouts, the EV tax credit added up to $670 million in 2017 (the last year that data is available), while subsidies to the oil and gas industry total more than $4 billion every year. Those subsidies for oil and gas come despite already having benefited from decades of support from the federal government.

According to polling data, the American public sees the EV tax credit as an important and effective way to help support a new technology that brings immediate benefits to public health by reducing air pollution and climate impacts and represents an important solution to addressing climate change. 

Main image: “I’m Positive I Plugged it in” Credit: YercombeCC BYNC 2.0 

picture-7019-1570723309.jpg
Ben Jervey is a Senior Fellow for DeSmog and directs the KochvsClean.com project. He is a freelance writer, editor, and researcher, specializing in climate change and energy systems and policy. Ben is also a Research Fellow at the Institute for Energy and the Environment at Vermont Law School. He was the original Environment Editor for GOOD Magazine, and wrote a longstanding weekly column titled “The New Ideal: Building the clean energy economy of the 21st Century and avoiding the worst fates of climate change.” He has also contributed regularly to National Geographic News, Grist, and OnEarth Magazine. He has published three books—on eco-friendly living in New York City, an Energy 101 primer, and, most recently, “The Electric Battery: Charging Forward to a Low Carbon Future.” He graduated with a BA in Environmental Studies from Middlebury College, and earned a Master’s in Energy Regulation and Law at Vermont Law School. A bicycle enthusiast, Ben has ridden across the United States and through much of Europe.

Related Posts

on

An upcoming city policy review offers the best chance to drop “fundamentally misleading” ads designed to appeal to policy makers and consumers.

An upcoming city policy review offers the best chance to drop “fundamentally misleading” ads designed to appeal to policy makers and consumers.
on

A new Environmental Defence analysis reveals that despite government promises to cut, the amount of taxpayers’ money given to the industry remains high.

A new Environmental Defence analysis reveals that despite government promises to cut, the amount of taxpayers’ money given to the industry remains high.
on

The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, a major oil refining group, is once again behind a push to keep cars running on oil.

The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, a major oil refining group, is once again behind a push to keep cars running on oil.
Analysis
on

"Climate the Movie" portrays today’s climate denier agenda by rehashing the same old fossil fuel talking points and trolling the left.

"Climate the Movie" portrays today’s climate denier agenda by rehashing the same old fossil fuel talking points and trolling the left.