The Factors Affecting Electric Vehicle Adoption in the United States, 2016–2021

Electric vehicles (EVs) provide an innovative solution that may reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation and help mitigate environmental problems. While the impacts of technological factors on EV adoption have been analyzed, externalities—such as socioeconomic status, state political alignment, and the number of charging facilities—have not been well studied in the United States. To address this gap in the literature, we employed ordinary least squares models to explore the relationships between external factors and EV adoption using state-level data in the contiguous United States from 2016 through 2021. We found the number of charging stations, level of education, median household income, and percentage of Democrats in state legislatures significantly increased EV market share and that population size significantly decreased state-level EV market share. The number of charging stations had the greatest impact on EV adoption. This study validates the effects of contextual factors on EV adoption, provides insights into facilitating broader EV adoption, and suggests ways of promoting sustainability.