Old North News

Toyota officials warned that American buyers are not yet prepared to fully shift toward electric vehicles (EVs).

"As much as you want to talk about EVs, the marketplace isn't mature enough," Jack Hollis, executive vice president of sales at Toyota Motor North America, said, according to The Wall Street Journal. "I don't think the market is ready for what the rhetoric is saying."

Hollis said during a virtual event with journalists that high cost and a weak public EV-charging infrastructure are two factors that might keep average consumers from fully accepting battery-powered vehicles.

Toyota, like other car companies, is expanding into the EV field. The company in late 2021 declared its intention to make 3.5 million electric vehicles per year by 2030, The Wall Street Journal reported. Hollis believes that consumers will accept EVs in the future, so Toyota needs to be prepared for the transition, but hybrid models "are more likely to appeal to mass-market buyers."

A Consumer Reports survey conducted between January and February received over 8,000 responses. They suggested that more than six in 10 Americans are hesitant to buy an EV due to a lack of accessible charging stations. North Carolina offers approximately 3,000 EV charging stations, according to PlugShare.com. 

More than 50% of respondents said the limited travel range for EVs on one charge is a factor in their resistance to purchasing one. Current electric vehicles can travel an average of 250 miles on a single charge, the University of California, Davis Plug-In Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Research Center found.

Almost two-thirds (63%) of respondents to the Consumer Reports survey said they would not purchase an EV today. Nearly 60% of respondents were concerned about cost-related factors and said the high purchase price of an EV is keeping them from buying one.

The Inflation Reduction Act was signed by President Joe Biden this month, following advancement in the House and the Senate. It extends a $7,500 tax credit for buyers of new EVs, according to CNBC. The tax credit has price and income restrictions, however. For instance, sedans must be sold at a price below $55,000 to be eligible. SUVs, trucks, and vans must be sold below $80,000 for the buyer to receive a tax credit.