JD Power, the American data analytics and consumer intelligence firm, expects electric vehicle sales to increase in the United States in 2024. However, it forecasts a slower growth rate compared to its original prediction.
This forecast adjustment is apparently due to several challenges impeding customer demand, including a lack of charging infrastructures and the price gap between electric vehicles and gas-powered counterparts.
Updated forecast
JD Power indicated in its “As Expected, Sales Pace Slows in January after Strong December” its updated forecast of a 12.4% electric vehicle market share in the US in 2024, representing a 7.6% year-on-year increase.
Although that rate indicates a whopping 63% gain, it still marks a 0.8 percentage points decline from JD Power’s initial forecast.
“We forecast EV retail share to reach an average of 12.4% in 2024. Conversely, several manufacturers have restated their commitment to EVs this year. This opens the door for them to capture their share of the 4% EV market growth expected in 2024.”
Elizabeth Krear, JD Power’s Electric Vehicle Practice VP
In hindsight, electric vehicle sales increased by a remarkable 50% rate to more than 1 million units for the first time in 2023. As expected, American pioneer Tesla led the EV market growth during that period, accounting for over 50% of that increase.
Affecting factors
Despite the substantial increase in electric vehicle sales in 2023, JD Power still expects the growth rate to slow this year due to several market challenges.
One of the prevailing challenges impeding electric automakers from hitting new record highs this year is accessibility. Most of the battery-electric vehicle (BEV) models in the market remain more expensive than their gas-powered counterparts. As a result, only a few alternatives exist for the mass market segment.
In addition, the lack of charging infrastructures continues to impede electric vehicle adoption in the US. Despite the White House’s efforts to boost its public charging network, the enormous number of electric vehicles on the road has already exceeded the existing charging infrastructures in many highly populated areas. Meanwhile, charging infrastructure development has only just commenced in most rural areas in the country, according to CBT News.
The above-mentioned challenges continue to discourage prospective customers from joining the shift to electric mobility, resulting in a major bottleneck in electric vehicle sales in the US. All that said, it would be interesting to see how electric vehicle players and the US government will strive to combat these challenges this year to boost the country’s electric vehicle uptake.
