Soaring gas prices are certainly one reason, but Jesse Toprak, chief auto-analyst at EV subscription company Autonomy, said new interests are being fueled by a combination of things.
“This is a direct reaction to rising gas prices, and more and more EV models are available for consumers,” Toprak told CNN. “That is, this is primarily a function of high gas prices, but there is also the availability of new EV products on the market.”
But that doesn’t mean that people are actually shopping.
Many may be looking for the cost and benefits of these cool, electricity-fueled cars. EVs are still exorbitantly expensive for many US homes. And many consumers tend to keep their current car as long as it lasts, rather than paying more in advance.
Still, Google Trends search is a good measure of consumer demand, consistent with what his company has seen in recent weeks: increasing inquiries and bookings for electric vehicles, Toprak said.
“We also know that more customers want to educate themselves, even if they’ve been on the sidelines,” Toprak said. “I’m clearly interested in what consumers are trying to understand.’Is this a better option for me?’
In addition to rising gas prices and growing concerns about climate change, marketing is likely to have played a major role in the recent surge in interest, said Melinda Hanson, co-founder of strategic company Electric Avenue. I am. For example, in the recent Super Bowl, major automakers such as BMW and General Motors have put up a ton of ads for fashionable electric cars.
“Fuel price volatility, coupled with a lot of publicity from car companies centered around electric cars, has really aroused more interest,” Hanson told CNN. “This is really the first step. There is a long way to get people accustomed to electric cars. This is what we look for in search and educate people and convince them that this is a good idea. I hope it helps. “
It’s not just EV. According to Michelle Krebs, executive analyst at Cox Automotive, people are generally looking for fuel-efficient cars, such as hybrids and compact cars, but sales surged earlier this year.
According to Krebs, the problem is that EV supplies are currently limited, which is probably what many people searching for electric cars on Google have found. Just as a burning car needs gasoline, an electric car needs a battery. However, due to supply chain issues, there is a shortage of critical materials for manufacturing batteries such as lithium, nickel and cobalt.
“Inventory is very low and many of the new models on the market are reserved and sold out,” Krebs told CNN.
“I thought it would be better by the end of this year, but there was no war on the agenda,” she added. “I actually lowered this year’s forecast because I thought the supply would be better, but now there is too much supply chain disruption.”
Given the speed at which the climate crisis is accelerating, Toprak said record high gas prices give consumers an “additional impetus and impetus” to switch to EV, much faster than expected. He said he hopes to be able to switch.
However, there is another option to utilize electricity to avoid these nasty supply chain problems. It’s an electric bicycle.
“People tend to think that every time they travel, they travel farther than they really are,” said Hanson, who owns an electric bike. “I think electric bikes could be a gateway drug for more commonly using electric transport, and I don’t think the problem with the electric bike supply chain is more dramatic than electric cars. . “
As more people plug in “electric cars” on Google search, Hanson wants consumers to learn the benefits of having an electric bike along the way.
“It makes sense from a climate perspective, a public health perspective, and an energy security perspective. There are numerous benefits to making this transition,” she said. “I certainly hope this is something that can push it to the limit.”