The concerns surrounding the adoption of electric vehicles in the U.S. are often the same — charging, range, cost — but Gen Z, those born between 1997 and the early 2010s, have different concerns than older generations of buyers, according to new Autolist research released this week.
The 2024 Electric Vehicle Survey presents results for the entire survey group as well as results by age group. Overall concerns about range and price have decreased since last year’s survey.
The average list price of a new electric vehicle fell 2.4% from a year ago to $62,450 in June, according to CarGurus data, which does not include prices from Tesla or Rivian.
The average list price of used EVs in June fell 13.8% from a year ago to $37,688 (including Tesla and Rivian).
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, electric driving range has also increased from an average of 257 miles to 270 miles year-over-year.
“Generation Z is the first EV-native generation, so rather than viewing EVs as a major change in how they own or power their cars, they view them simply as cars. That means they’re less fixated on top EV-related concerns like EV range and charging access than other age groups. Instead, Gen Z’s concerns about EVs are more evenly spread and include roughly the same ones they have for gasoline-powered cars, like reliability, styling and design, and battery safety in crashes,” Auto List editor-in-chief David Underkoffler told Newsweek.
Front view of the 2025 Fiat 500e. The 2025 Fiat 500e is built at the Mirafiori assembly plant in Turin, Italy. Front view of the 2025 Fiat 500e. The 2025 Fiat 500e is built at the Mirafiori assembly plant in Turin, Italy. Stellantis
Respondents reported that concerns surrounding charging rose to 38 percent from 32 percent last year, despite efforts by the federal government and private industry to increase public charging infrastructure.
Gen Z is different. This generation is equally concerned about a wider range of factors when it comes to EVs than other age groups. As opposed to price, range and ease of charging, younger shoppers focused on factors like reliability, style, design, battery safety in a crash, performance shortfalls and noise.
Autolist believes this is because Gen Z is more familiar with EVs than older shoppers, with the youngest respondents in our survey (minimum age 18) having been exposed to EVs since childhood.
Although they are the most critical, this younger generation is also the most optimistic about EV ownership, with 41% saying they want to own an EV in the future, higher than the 34% average for all survey respondents, although this number is slightly down from the 48% who said they wanted to own an EV last year.
Despite the government pouring a lot of money into EV purchase rebates, only 35% of Gen Z buyers say local, state and federal taxpayer dollars should be used for incentives to boost EV sales. This is the biggest difference Autolist has seen in years, with 50% of respondents in favor of incentives.
Rivian R1S front three-quarter view. The Rivian R1S seats seven people across three rows. Rivian R1S front three-quarter view. The Rivian R1S seats seven people across three rows. Rivian
The price and range of EVs alone may not be enough to lure buyers off the sidelines, as key issues are becoming less of a hindrance. Gen Z faces the same economic headwinds as other generations, but they’re less equipped to withstand them. A new study from credit-reporting firm TransUnion found that those in their early 20s are earning less, having more debt and being more delinquent on payments than millennials were when they were their age.
“Economic reasons are certainly a big part of it. Gen Z optimism has declined, but optimism across all age groups in the survey has also declined. EVs face a lot of headwinds in the news for 2024. It’s also a tumultuous election year and EVs are not immune to the ripple effects of that,” Underkoffler said.
“Then there’s the economic factor. Gen Z is being disproportionately affected by the current economic situation, which has led to negative outlooks on a variety of big-ticket purchases in the future, like cars and homes. All of these factors are on Gen Z’s radar.”
The final takeaway from the Autolist survey was how respondents’ answers have changed regarding the overall environmental impact of EVs versus internal combustion engine vehicles (ICE). This year, about a third of respondents said they believe EVs are more environmentally friendly than ICE vehicles. This is a 12 percentage point decrease from 2022, when 46% thought so.
The survey also found that there is still room for improvement in educating consumers about all aspects of EV ownership, charging and maintenance.
“Automakers are working hard to close the price and range gap between EVs and gasoline-powered cars, and rightfully so – this is essential for all future EVs, regardless of the buyer’s age. What’s more, as the EV market matures, the number of available used EVs will continue to increase, making EVs more affordable for younger buyers,” Underkoffler said.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom, seeking common ground and finding connections.
