Are Half Of EV Owners Really 'Switching Back' To Gas? It's Complicated.
A new McKinsey study is being used as ammo against EVs. In reality, the next wave of EV buyers need more help than they're getting.
You probably saw the headlines. According to a new survey, 46% of electric vehicle owners in America now say they intend to "switch back" to internal combustion-powered cars. This particular statistic from McKinsey & Company's newest Mobility Consumer Pulse survey has been cited far and wide as an example of how troubled the EV transition really is.
The results go against conventional wisdom in the automotive world: That once people go electric, they almost never go back. Is that sentiment really starting to change right as the auto industry aims to take EVs more mainstream?
The reality is more complicated and nuanced than that, one of the study's authors told InsideEVs. And what the data proves, this author says, is that automakers, dealers and charging companies have a lot more work to do if they want to keep any sort of electric momentum going.
"It's important not to just get stuck on that headline," said Philipp Kampshoff, who leads McKinsey's Center for Future Mobility in the Americas. However, "when I look at the data, I think it's a bit of a clear warning signal that we need to fix these issues quickly," he said.