Americans have quietly warmed to electric cars even as EV sales slide

Consumer attitudes toward electric vehicles and the sales charts that track them are moving in opposite directions. More than half of U.S. drivers surveyed for the fourth annual HERE-SBD EV Index, released on World EV Day, said they are more open to considering an EV than they were a year ago, even as the segment’s share of new-vehicle sales has continued to slip.

The index, produced by mapping and location-data company HERE Technologies alongside automotive research firm SBD Automotive, pairs a state-by-state infrastructure ranking with a consumer survey of more than 4,000 drivers across the U.S., Europe, India, and Australia. Its U.S. findings describe a market where enthusiasm for EV ownership is climbing while purchases are not, a gap researchers tie largely to growing confidence in public charging.

Consumer Sentiment Moves Opposite the Sales Chart

Fifty-three percent of U.S. drivers surveyed said they are more open to an EV than they were last year. That optimism comes as EV market share sits at 5.37 percent of new U.S. sales year to date in 2026, down nearly three percentage points from full-year 2025 figures tracked by industry group the Alliance for Automotive Innovation. Among drivers who don’t currently own an EV, 10 percent fewer said they intend to buy a gas vehicle next compared with last year’s survey, 8 percent more said they would choose electric if price and specifications were equal to a gas alternative, and 12 percent said they now see no barriers at all to EV adoption, double the 6 percent who said the same a year earlier.

Charging Confidence Nearly Doubles in a Year

The clearest shift in the survey involves how drivers rate public charging. Positive perceptions of public charging availability rose from 28 percent to 47 percent year over year, and 60 percent of respondents said they are confident the country can build the infrastructure that wider EV adoption would require. Researchers pointed to real buildout behind that shift: the U.S. added 31,600 public charge points over the survey period, a 13 percent increase in the country’s total charge-point count, while total available charge power rose 47 percent, from 14.1 gigawatts to 20.7 gigawatts, according to the HERE-SBD EV Index 2026 findings. Robert Fisher, a senior consulting manager at SBD Automotive, said the findings suggest continued infrastructure investment is starting to translate into consumer confidence, calling sentiment an indicator worth watching as the market evolves.

Gas Prices Still Push Much of the Interest

Fuel costs remain the single biggest driver of EV consideration in the survey. Fifty-seven percent of all U.S. respondents said gas prices had influenced their interest in an EV, a figure that rose to nearly eight in ten among people who already drive one. Beyond fuel costs, respondents pointed to improving EV range and charging speed, cited by 35 percent, charging infrastructure broadly, cited by 31 percent, and the availability of charging at home or work, cited by 29 percent, as reasons for increased consideration. Concern over charging availability and driving range still ranked among the top barriers to adoption, but the share of respondents naming those specific worries fell 14 percent and 15 percent, respectively, from the prior year’s survey.

What Existing Owners Report About the Experience

Among people who already own an EV, the survey found broad satisfaction. Eighty-five percent rated public charging coverage as good or better, up 13 percentage points from the year before, and 77 percent said they would likely replace their current EV with another one. Seventy-six percent said vehicle range has performed better than they expected, and close to three-quarters said charging overall exceeded expectations. Respondents also increasingly framed EV ownership in practical rather than environmental terms: better value for money, cited by 31 percent, was the leading motivator for adoption, followed by better performance and lower maintenance costs, each cited by 29 percent, and more respondents said EVs cost less to own and operate than said the opposite.

Which States Lead the Country’s Charging Buildout

The index’s state rankings, which combine charge-point density, charger-to-EV ratios, and adoption data, again put East Coast states at the top. Delaware and Washington, D.C. held the top two spots, followed by New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, the last of which returned to the top five this year on the strength of expanded charge points and its status as the only state offering an incentive for used EV purchases. Alaska posted the largest year-over-year jump in the rankings on new chargers and higher average charge power, followed by Oklahoma and Utah. Iowa recorded the steepest decline as its charging buildout failed to keep pace with EV sales, while Washington and South Dakota also fell toward the bottom on shrinking charger-per-EV ratios.

Trust in Automakers Shapes the Next Wave of Buyers

The survey also probed brand loyalty as EV options multiply. More than a third of U.S. drivers said they would consider a Chinese-made EV, but domestic preference remains strong: 76 percent said they would likely consider a U.S. automaker, and only 10 percent said they would not. HERE Technologies Chief Product Officer Denise Doyle said confidence in EV ownership is increasingly tied to confidence in the charging experience itself, with drivers wanting to know where chargers are located, whether they are available, and how quickly a vehicle can charge. As adoption grows, she said, location data and real-time charging information are likely to play a larger role in helping drivers make the switch.

This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.

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