Charging Access, Not Sticker Price, Drives US EV Interest to 53%, Here-SBD Index Shows

A new index from Here and SBD Automotive puts the share of US drivers willing to consider an electric vehicle at 53%, a shift the data attributes less to pricing and more to the steady expansion of public charging infrastructure. The findings suggest that the long-running debate over EV affordability may be missing where consumer hesitation actually lives.

Behind the headline number, the Here-SBD index tracks how attitudes moved over the past twelve months, and the direction of travel points to access rather than cost as the decisive variable. Where charging feels available and dependable, drivers appear more open to going electric, regardless of what a given model costs.

For automakers and charging network operators, that framing carries a practical implication: build-out timelines and station reliability may do more to move adoption than another round of price cuts. The 53% figure is best read as a snapshot of sentiment shaped by infrastructure conditions on the ground, not a verdict on EV economics.