Americans more open to EVs as charging confidence jumps, index finds
More than half of US drivers surveyed (53%) say they are more open to considering an electric vehicle (EV) than they were a year ago, even as headline adoption rates slip, according to the HERE-SBD EV Index 2026 published on 9 September. The fourth annual index, produced jointly by mapping platform HERE Technologies and automotive research firm SBD Automotive, combines proprietary infrastructure data with a survey of more than 4,000 drivers across the US, Europe, India and Australia.
US EV market share stood at 5.37% for 2026 year-to-date, down from the 2025 full-year figure by nearly three percentage points, according to figures the index attributes to the Alliance for Automotive Innovation. Yet the consumer sentiment picture is running ahead of sales: 10% fewer non-EV drivers intend to make their next purchase a petrol vehicle compared with last year's survey, and the share reporting no barriers to EV adoption doubled from 6% to 12%.
Charging infrastructure closing the sentiment gap
The sharpest shift in the data relates to charging. Positive perceptions of public charging availability rose from 28% to 47% year-on-year, and 60% of US respondents expressed confidence in the country's ability to build out the infrastructure needed to support wider adoption. The US added 31,600 public charge points in the period covered by the index, representing 13% of the national total, and total charge power increased 47% from 14.1 GW to 20.7 GW.
Among existing EV drivers, the experience is tracking better than anticipated. Nearly three-quarters say charging has performed better than expected; 76% report vehicle range exceeds expectations; and 77% say they would likely replace their current vehicle with another EV.
Robert Fisher, senior consulting manager at SBD Automotive, said continued investment in charging infrastructure is "starting to translate into greater consumer confidence," adding that sentiment often leads purchasing behaviour and makes confidence "an important indicator to watch as the market continues to evolve."
Market context
The divergence between slowing sales and improving sentiment is one of the more closely watched dynamics in the EV transition. It reflects a pattern seen in other consumer durables where infrastructure readiness and real-world user experience catch up with early-adopter growth before a second, broader adoption wave. The charging network is the critical variable: range anxiety and charging availability have historically been the two largest reported barriers, and both declined materially in this year's survey, by 15% and 14% respectively.
The index's state-level rankings illustrate how unevenly infrastructure investment is distributed. Delaware, Washington DC, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Connecticut lead the national table, reflecting a combination of dense population, policy support and sustained charging roll-out. Alaska, Oklahoma and Utah recorded the largest improvements, while Iowa fell sharply after charging infrastructure failed to keep pace with EV sales growth, a pattern that points to the risk of demand outrunning supply at a regional level.
On brand dynamics, 76% of US respondents said they would likely consider a US-branded EV, while more than one-third would consider a Chinese-made vehicle, a figure that carries implications for trade and tariff policy as well as for domestic OEMs positioning their next model cycles.
Policy read-across
The US federal incentive environment for EVs has been volatile. The Inflation Reduction Act's Section 30D consumer EV tax credit and related charging-infrastructure provisions have been among the most contested elements of recent energy policy, with eligibility rules and income caps shifting the addressable market for buyers. State-level differentiation, illustrated by Connecticut being cited as the only state to incentivise used-EV ownership, suggests that sub-federal policy is increasingly shaping the geographic shape of the market.
The next milestones to watch are whether improving sentiment converts into a sales-rate recovery in the second half of 2026, and whether federal charging infrastructure funding continues to flow at a pace consistent with closing the regional gaps the index identifies.