For all the headlines about electric vehicle sticker shock, the bigger psychological barrier for many Americans is still the fear of running out of charge. New research finds that drivers are more fixated on how far an EV can go and how easy it is to recharge than on the purchase price itself. That gap between perception and reality is now shaping how quickly the country can move away from gasoline.
Range anxiety has become a kind of cultural shorthand for EV skepticism, but it is rooted in specific concerns about daily routines, long road trips, and the reliability of public charging. As I look across recent surveys, a clear pattern emerges: Americans are not rejecting electric cars outright, yet they are weighing range, charging access, and Cost against each other in ways that complicate the transition.
Range anxiety tops the EV worry list
The latest signal that distance still dominates the EV debate comes from a study highlighted in Jan under the headline Americans Still Worry About EV Range More Than EV Prices, Study Finds. In that research, Americans ranked driving range and charging access as their primary anxieties when considering an electric model, ahead of the upfront cost of the vehicle. The study, which drew on a broad sample of U.S. consumers, found that concerns about how far a car can travel on a single charge and how easy it is to find a plug now outrank price as the main friction point, even as more lower-cost models reach the market.
That hierarchy of fears is consistent with earlier work from Jan that examined attitudes toward electrified vehicles and found that Range was the top concern among U.S. respondents. In that earlier analysis, two-thirds of Americans said they did not want an EV yet, and about half indicated they would not pay extra for an electric or hybrid option over comparable internal-combustion vehicles, underscoring how range worries and price resistance can reinforce each other. The same research reported that respondents expected an EV to cost less than a gasoline car, even as they demanded longer range, a combination that helps explain why so many shoppers remain on the fence about a potential purchase they were only beginning to understand through limited test drives and advertising rather than lived experience, as detailed in a new study from Deloitte.
Experience with EVs changes who feels anxious
Range anxiety is not evenly distributed across the population, and it tends to fade as drivers gain real-world experience. A survey highlighted in Nov found that range anxiety decreases with experience, meaning that people who actually live with an electric car quickly recalibrate their expectations. Once drivers see how far a modern EV can go in daily commuting, and how often they can recharge at home or work, the fear of being stranded starts to look less like a rational calculation and more like a holdover from earlier generations of short-range models.
The same Nov survey drilled into which groups feel the most pressure and found that anxiety was highest among those who had never owned an EV and were still evaluating a potential purchase they were only imagining in the abstract. These respondents tended to overestimate how frequently they would need public fast charging and underestimate how much of their driving could be covered by overnight charging at home. That gap between perception and actual use patterns helps explain why some Americans still see EVs as risky, even as owners report that their day-to-day experience is more relaxed than they expected, a dynamic captured in a recent survey.
Price still matters, but it is not the only hurdle
Even as range dominates the conversation, Cost has not disappeared as a barrier. A 2025 Poll: Americans’ Views on Electric Vehicles from Oct found that Cost remains the top reason why Americans say they will not buy an EV, a reminder that many households are still priced out of the market. That poll also noted that While Congress and the Trump administration has enacted new incentives and invested in charging stations in recent years, the benefits of those policies have not fully filtered down to skeptical buyers who are comparing monthly payments and insurance costs rather than federal tax credits.
At the same time, other surveys suggest that price and range are now intertwined in more complicated ways. In Jan, one study reported that only 7% of Americans want their next car to be electric, with U.S. consumers balancing affordability with the realities of charging access and everyday use as they consider future purchases. That finding indicates that shoppers are not simply rejecting EVs because they are expensive, but because they are weighing the total package of range, charging convenience, and Cost against familiar gasoline options. When only a small share of buyers see an EV as their obvious next step, automakers face a tougher task convincing mainstream drivers that the trade-offs are worth it, a tension that was highlighted when Cost remains the top reason for hesitation.
Why only a small slice of buyers want an EV next
The figure that only 7% of Americans want their next car to be electric is striking, and it reflects a broader cooling in enthusiasm after an early wave of adopters. According to Jan, U.S. consumers are now trying to reconcile the promise of lower fueling and maintenance costs with the realities of charging access and everyday use. For many, the idea of planning road trips around fast chargers or relying on workplace charging still feels like a step backward from the convenience of gas stations on every corner, even if the technology on paper has caught up.
That tension is especially visible in regions where public charging networks remain patchy or where apartment dwellers cannot easily install home chargers. In those markets, the fear of being stuck without a plug can outweigh any savings at the pump, and it helps explain why some drivers say they will wait for the next generation of infrastructure before committing. The same Jan reporting on only 7% of Americans wanting an EV next also pointed to a drop in sales last year, suggesting that early adopters have largely been served and that the industry now has to persuade more cautious buyers who are acutely aware of both Cost and convenience. Those buyers are hearing that U.S. consumers are balancing affordability with the realities of charging access and everyday use, a phrase that captures the new calculus described in a national survey.
Closing the gap between perception and reality
For policymakers and automakers, the challenge now is to narrow the distance between how Americans imagine EV ownership and how it actually works. The Jan analysis that found Range was the top concern among U.S. respondents also showed that expectations for EV pricing and performance are often misaligned with what is already on the market. Many shoppers still assume that an electric car will cost significantly more than a gasoline model, even as some compact EVs now undercut comparable internal-combustion vehicles on total cost of ownership, especially when home charging is available and electricity prices are stable.
Addressing that disconnect will require more than advertising. It will mean expanding reliable fast charging along major corridors, supporting home and workplace charging for renters and lower income households, and making sure that incentives are simple enough for buyers to understand at the dealership. Surveys like the one from Nov, which found that range anxiety decreases with experience, suggest that once people see EVs in their neighborhoods and workplaces, fears about being stranded will fade. Until then, range and charging will continue to loom larger than price in the public imagination, even as Cost remains the top reason many Americans say they will not buy an EV, a pattern that was already visible when two-thirds of Americans said they did not want an EV yet.
In the meantime, I see a car market split between those who have already made the leap and rarely think about range anymore, and those who still picture EVs as fragile, short-range experiments. The data shows that Americans Still Worry About EV Range More Than EV Prices, Study Finds, but it also hints at a path forward: as more drivers gain firsthand experience, the fears that dominate surveys today may look outdated surprisingly quickly.
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