The electric vehicle (EV) is a breakthrough achievement in the automotive industry that has taken off across the United States (Davenport et al., 2024; Osaka, 2024). The country sold nearly 1.2 million fully electric vehicles last year more than quadrupling the number in 2019 (Osaka, 2024). More and more public locations across the US are installing charging stations and EVs have started to become less niche as they are now being produced by 42 car companies and recognizable ones like Ford, GM, and Hyundai (Davenport et al., 2024; Osaka, 2024). Furthermore, EVs are the fastest-growing segment of the auto industry (Davenport et al., 2024).
The environmental benefits of EVs are indisputable and as such they have been used as a strategy to combat climate change by turning away from the gasoline-powered cars that are a major cause of global warming (Davenport et al., 2024). The movement towards an electric automotive future are evident with California announcing a rule in August 2022 to fully phase out gas-powered cars by 2035 and with the Biden administration finalizing a Environmental Protection Agency rule this past March that would push automakers to produce more than 50 percent of their cars as electric or hybrid by 2032 (Osaka, 2024).New limits on vehicle emissions would avoid more than seven billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions over the next 30 years, provide $100 billion in annual net benefits to society including $13 billion annually in public health benefits, and would save the American driver about $6,000 in reduced fuel and maintenance over the life of their vehicle (Davenport et al., 2024). Seems like a win win right?
Well, all this being said, the one thing holding the country back from this all-electric future is political polarization (Osaka, 2024). Sales have consistently shown us that Republicans are not as eager towards this idea (Osaka, 2024). A 2023 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center found that 70 percent of Republicans and leaning Republicans were not likely to consider purchasing a EV compared to the 56 percent of Democrats who said they would consider one (Davenport et al., 2024). A Gallup poll reported similar results this past March finding 61 percent of Democrats stating they were “seriously considering” or “might consider” buying a EV in the future compared to only 24 percent of Republicans who would consider it (Osaka, 2024). It also reported that 69 percent of Republicans blatantly stated they “would not buy” an EV in the future (Osaka, 2024).
So what is the cause of this discrepancy? One possible reason is that EVs are found consistently higher in Democratic counties allowing for more awareness and ultimately causing others to be influenced to purchase one (Osaka, 2024). Another crucial issues is that this topic has become a platform of political debate with Republican and Democratic leaders differing on opinion (Osaka, 2024). Republican leaders have been very outspoken with their opinions against the movement such as former president Donald Trump who has called it “electric car lunacy” and the idea of a EV future “very, very stupid.” No matter your opinion, these outspoken stances have influenced followers and made the issue more polarizing.
“They’re trying to ban gas cars – I’m not going to buy a Biden-mobile,” and “Republicans are instinctively: ‘If Biden’s for it, we’re against.'” states Mike Murphy, a former Republican strategist and head of the non profit EV Politics Project which aims to counter misinformation on electric cars and encourage conservatives to accept the idea (Osaka, 2024).
In order to make noticeable impacts on climate this difference of opinion must be addressed. About 40 percent of new car buyers are Republicans, so without their support, the country won’t be able to fully shift to electric vehicles (Osaka, 2024). Murphey states, “If you can’t crack the Republican problem there is no way you can get to these targets… they are going to run out of Democrats” (Davenport et al., 2024).
When looking at strategies for inducing pro-environment behavior we must recognize that many problems have basis in human behavior. We can utilize tactics that stem from applied psychology like Steg and Vlek’s (2009) steps to promote pro-environmental behavior change (Gruman et al., 2016). This involves running an intervention and often starts by selecting a desired behavior and particular group for the intervention as opposed to targeting “everyone” (Gruman et al., 2016). In this situation we have a already set up the specific group of Republicans as who we want to insight change in their behaviors towards accepting electric vehicles. We would look at the underlying factors causing these behaviors and design an intervention around it.
As of now, there are many analysts hoping to change how conservatives see EVs. The Potential Energy Coalition which is a group that uses marketing strategies to boost climate action found that abstract messaging such as EVs path to energy independence does not work as well as pointing out out how they cut pollution and the cost of owning a car (Osaka, 2024). Additionally, talk of mandates, bans, and limitations never work and generally turn Republicans away (Osaka, 2024). We should focus on how they help consumers directly, noting that they are fast, quiet, and need much less maintenance (Osaka, 2024).
In order to achieve a successful transition to electric vehicles, it is crucial to understand the political divide that surrounds it and address the concerns of Republican buyers. By conducting proper interventions, focusing on tangible benefits of EVs, and avoiding further disagreement we can move towards a sustainable automotive future for all.
References
Davenport, C., Friedman, L., & Ewing, J. (2024, March 21). Inside the Republican attacks on electric vehicles. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/21/climate/republican-attacks-electric-vehicles.html
Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (Eds.). (2016). Applied social psychology : Understanding and addressing social and practical problems. SAGE Publications, Incorporated.
Osaka, S. (2024, May 6). Here’s why so many Republicans won’t buy EVs. Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2024/05/06/ev-polarization-republicans-electric-cars/
While I agree that electric vehicles have been made into a partisan issue, it doesn’t stem solely from political machinations. A lesser considered part of this dilemma is the precipitating and perpetuating factors of geography. On average, Republicans live in rural areas. In their article, Bestaver and Shah (2024) found that only 17% of people in rural America lived less than a mile away from an electric vehicle charging station, while 60% of people in urban areas did.
Bestaver and Shah (2024) also found that access to electric vehicle chargers was correlated with positive attitudes towards owning one. So it may not be that Republicans are making electric vehicles a solely partisan issue, it’s that they simply don’t have access to the infrastructure necessary to own one.
Furthermore, electric vehicles are less practical for rural living. Electric vehicles don’t have the power that is needed for hauling and plowing. If you run out of gas in a field or on a back road, someone can bring you a gas can, but they can’t bring you electricity. Also, electric charging stations are expensive to implement and many rural areas simply don’t have the budget.
If America is serious about making electric vehicles the new standard, it is important to consider the systematic factors at play and not just consumer decisions.
Sources
Bestvater, S., & Shah, S. (2024, May 23). Electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the U.S. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/data-labs/2024/05/23/electric-vehicle-charging-infrastructure-in-the-u-s/
This is an issue of identity politics. People associate their views with certain entirely non-political things (vegetarianism, electric vehicles, masking) and figure out the logic of why they’re for or against it later. This phenomenon can get interesting when two of these things collide. Take Elon Musk for example. He has recently embraced a certain narrative that many would describe as conservative or conservative leaning. Will this make Republicans embrace electric vehicles and Democrats reject them? The nature of identity politics is already absurd, so it wouldn’t be that far fetched.
In one study that looked at the relationship between identity politics and mental well-being, researchers determined that there may be a correlation between measures of identity politics and reduced mental well-being. This study mainly focused on people described as political progressives. “Regardless of whether one takes a conservative or aggressive interpretation of the results, there is at least limited evidence that identity political attitudes are a component contributing to the lower well-being of political progressives” (Yancey, 2023, p. 1)
References
Yancey, G. (2023, October 12). Identity Politics, Political Ideology, and Well-being: Is Identity Politics Good for Our Well-being?. Wiley Online Library. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/socf.12966