Shocker! Republicans and Democrats Agree!
While our polling shows there is plenty Repubs and Dems disagree on when it comes to EVs, there actually is something they agree on!
Money.
We asked people to rank the top reasons to buy or lease an electric vehicle. There was plenty of agreement between Republican and Democratic respondents on the universal joy of never paying for gas again. Both sides agreed on that. But one attribute the two feuding partisan political groups agreed on might surprise anyone who has heard the frequent attacks on the EV subsidy by scores of GOP politicians and their hallelujah choir on Fox News.
The point of agreement?
The Federal Government money you can get (up to $7500!) when you buy an EV (that qualifies by having significant made in the USA components).. 27% of Democrats ranked “rebate from the Government” as their number one or number two reason to buy an EV. 23% of Republicans rated it the same; only a 4% difference.
Money talks, in a bipartisan manner.
On this aspect of EV policy, GOP EV bashing politicians in Washington DC are way out of sync with the party rank and file (not for the first time I might add.)
We also wanted to know how well known the EV rebate program is known to consumers. 33% of respondents said they were aware of a “substantial” subsidy or rebate for buying EVs, while 17% said there was an “insignificant” subsidy or rebate. The remainder didn’t know.
And by party? Among Democrats, 43% said there was a “substantial” EV subsidy or rebate while 15% said there as an “insignificant” rebate or subsidy. Among Republicans the numbers were 31% citing a “significant” rebate/subsidy and 18% saying it was “insignificant”. Independent voters were the least aware, with 25% citing a “significant” subsidy or rebate and 17% saying an “insignificant” EV subsidy or rebate was available.
Among people who say they have friends or relatives who drive EVs, the “significant” subsidy or rebate awareness number was 44%, nearly twice the number cited by people who say they do not have any friends or relatives who drive EVs (24%). It was also 11% higher than the overall national average.
The bottom line: only 33% of total U.S. consumers with a household income of $50,000 or above really understand the EV subsidy. I would think “free money!” should be pretty easy to advertise. The industry should ramp it up.
