Political Ideology and U.S. Electric Vehicle Adoption
The prospect for electric vehicles (EVs) as a climate change solution hinges on their widespread adoption across political lines. This paper uses county-level data to show that from 2012-2023, about half of all new EV registrations in the U.S. went to the 10% most Democratic counties. This correlation remains largely stable over time, though EV trucks show a lower correlation than other EV types. We also conducted a survey, finding no difference in the ability of Democrats and Republicans to identify EVs. Overall, our results suggest that barriers to widespread U.S. EV adoption may be greater than anticipated.
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