EV buyers want SUVs and sedans, not minivans or trucks, survey says

Enlarge / Edmunds surveyed 300 car buyers who were considering a new EV in January 2024. (credit: Getty Images)

There is a significant mismatch between the people who want to buy electric vehicles and the people who want to sell them. That’s according to data from a new survey by Edmunds, which polled people shopping for new cars in January. These prospective buyers want affordable sedans and SUVs, segments of the market that are being ignored by automakers. Instead, they’re being offered expensive EVs, including plenty of trucks, for which there is little demand.

Almost half (47 percent) of the 300 people surveyed said they want to spend less than $40,000 on a new EV. And just over one in five (22 percent) said that they don’t want to pay more than $30,000. But currently, no new EV is on sale below this price, and only a handful of EVs (Mini Cooper SE, Fiat 500e, Hyundai Kona Electric, Nissan Leaf, and Tesla Model 3) are on sale for less than $40,000.

According to Edmunds’ data, the average transaction price of a new EV was $61,702 in 2023, compared to $47,450 for other vehicles.