Electric vehicle consideration climbed to a measurable high point in April 2026, with 26% of new-vehicle shoppers telling JD Power they were “very likely” to consider an EV — up 3 percentage points from March and the strongest reading the firm has logged this year. The April jump, attributed to rising fuel costs, lifted the full-year 2026 figure to 25% “very likely,” a 1-point gain over the 2025 benchmark and the first annual uptick in top-box consideration since 2023. The firm’s annual EVC Study now in its sixth year drew responses from 8,154 consumers planning a new-vehicle purchase or lease in the next 12 months, fielded January through April 2026.
Highlights
- April 2026 saw “very likely” EV consideration rise to 26% (up 3 points month over month), while “very unlikely” sentiment fell to 18% (down 4 points)
- Full-year 2026 “very likely” consideration reached 25%, a 1-point YoY gain that reverses the 2024 decline from 26% to 24%
- Charging station availability remains the top rejection reason at 46%, down 6 points YoY; charging time follows at 44%, down 2 points
- Purchase price cited by 42% of EV-rejecting shoppers, with the metric rising among the least-likely buyers in April
Fuel Prices Drive April Uptick
Brent Gruber, executive director of OEM and EV solutions at JD Power, framed the April movement as evidence that EV interest is holding through a turbulent policy environment. “Despite ongoing policy changes, including the repeal of federal tax credits, a growing number of new-vehicle shoppers remain interested in EVs,” Gruber said. “At the same time, there continues to be gradual but important progress in key rejection reasons among shoppers such as purchase price, charging availability and range anxiety over the long term.”
The April spike helped pull the 2026 annual figure to 25% “very likely” — a single-point gain that matters more than it sounds. JD Power’s 2024 EVC Study recorded the first decline in top-box consideration since the index launched in 2021, and the 2025 reading held flat at 24%. The 2026 print therefore breaks a two-year stall and lands as the first measurable recovery in stated EV interest.
Charging Concerns Easing, But Slowly
Charging-related friction remains the dominant brake on consideration, though both leading metrics improved year over year. Charging station availability was cited by 46% of shoppers rejecting EVs, down 6 points from the 2025 study. Charging time followed at 44%, down 2 points. Purchase price held the third spot at 42%, essentially flat YoY but 5 points below the 2024 reading.
The April monthly data tells a different story on price. Among shoppers who said they were not likely to consider an EV in April, purchase price moved from the third- to the second-most-cited rejection reason — a near-term signal that affordability is regaining ground as a deterrent even as the longer-term trend flattens.
Gruber pointed to a perception gap on public charging. “The irony is that public chargers are already more common than many people realize. Across much of the country, fast chargers are often available within about 50 miles, but for those not driving an EV, they can be easy to overlook. This points to a gap in visibility and awareness rather than infrastructure.”
High Bar Among Skeptics
Shoppers who said they were “very unlikely” to consider an EV showed little appetite for tradeoffs. More than half (56%) said they would not pay any price premium for an EV. Nearly three-quarters (73%) said they would need at least 500 miles of range. And 43% said they would expect public charging availability to match that of gas stations before considering one. Those thresholds sit well above what the current product and infrastructure landscape can deliver, suggesting the skeptic cohort will remain difficult to convert through incremental improvement alone.
Generation and Housing Drive the Split
Rejection reasons diverged sharply by age. Purchase price ranked among the top concerns for Gen Z and Gen Y shoppers, cited by 32% and 35%, respectively, while older generations weighted charging time and availability more heavily.
Housing situation produced a starker divide. Only 18% of apartment residents and 17% of condo and townhouse residents said they were “very likely” to consider an EV — down 4 and 1 percentage points YoY, respectively, even as the overall figure climbed. “While concerns around driving range and public charging are easing, consideration among shoppers who can’t charge at home or work has barely moved, highlighting a critical gap in multifamily and workplace infrastructure,” Gruber said. “Without meaningful progress in these areas, a large share of would-be EV buyers will remain out of reach, regardless of how attractive the vehicles become.”
The findings echo a parallel trend identified in the 2026 EVX Home Charging Study, released by JD Power in March, which found home charging accounts for 86% of typical EV charging and remains the cornerstone of owner satisfaction — a foundation entirely unavailable to the multifamily cohort.
Pillar link (pending): when the WLTP vs EPA range cycles pillar page is live, attach to the “73% would require at least 500 miles of range” reference. (Pillar page not yet built.)
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