Before the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, engineering simulation software companyAnsys commissioned a global survey of 16,037 adults resulting in some insights about consumer attitudes toward vehicle electrification. Among the findings:

• Less than half of Americans (39%) consider related emissions when they travel. In contrast, worldwide 66% consider those travel-related emissions. In India and China, 89% and 85% of respective respondents reported thinking about emissions when traveling.

• US respondents are split when it comes to when they’ll consider purchasing an EV. Nearly one-third of those surveyed already own an EV or plan to buy one within five years. Conversely, 39% of respondents would only buy an EV if gasoline-powered vehicles were no longer available.

• Global findings reveal more optimism for EVs—just 6% of Chinese respondents and 4% of Indian respondents will wait to buy an EV until gas-powered vehicles cease production.

• Americans cite too few charging points and too high upfront cost as the leading barriers to buying an electric vehicle.

• US respondents are most likely to buy an EV if the government offers a federal/state tax credit. Japanese and UK respondents exhibit the same belief, while the rest of the regions surveyed are most concerned with carbon footprint reduction. Most other countries were split as well, with the exception of China and India, where 65% and 77% of respective respondents would still purchase an EV without a tax credit.

• In the US, 34% would purchase and EV without a tax credit; 38% would not purchase an EV without a tax credit; and 28% said a tax credit would not influence the decision.

• More than half of Gen Z respondents (55%) and Millennials (59%) would purchase an electric vehicle if they didn’t get a tax credit, whereas only 36% of Gen X respondents and 27% of Boomers would opt to do so.

• Most Americans (56%) would consider an EV as their next vehicle if the price matched gasoline-powered vehicles, though they are less likely to factor price than other regions. India illustrates the most contrast, with 87% of respondents saying they would purchase an EV if they were the same price as other cars.

• Globally, almost half (47%) of respondents would prefer to purchase an electric vehicle from a mid-tier brand, e.g. Toyota, Subaru, Ford, Honda, Nissan.

Ansys enlisted Atomik Research and its team of MRS-certified researchers to conduct the online survey in March 2020. The sample included 16,037 adults 18-and-over, from the UK, US, DACH (Austria, Germany and Switzerland), France, Sweden, Japan, China and India.

Founded in 1970, Ansys develops, markets and supports engineering simulation software used to predict how product designs will behave in real-world environments.