Forget about EV range—and focus on this instead

Americans shopping for a new electric vehicle can choose from dozens of models available in hundreds of configurations, and the options keep growing. One way or another, they’ll have to narrow those choices as they select their next car. Many will compare style, price, and the brand’s reputation—as well as numbers that capture vehicle quality. With EVs comprising less than one in ten new car purchases, most Americans are still forming their impressions and figuring out how to evaluate them. It remains to be seen whether they’ll ultimately care most about range, engine power, or something else entirely. The answer will help define the EV market’s future. In the short term, EV customer satisfaction will be higher if the metrics that guide purchase decisions accurately reflect the qualities that ultimately matter to owners, rather than those the buyers think will matter. For better or worse, the metrics that rise to the fore will also influence automakers’ R&D investments as they strive to give their future models a leg up on the competition. President-elect Donald Trump frequently disparaged EVs on the campaign trail, and his new administration is unlikely to prioritize their adoption. That being the case, automakers themselves will play an outsized role determining which evaluation criteria catch on with the public, particularly through the billions of dollars they spend annually on advertising. Because so many Americans are unfamiliar with EVs, they could assume that the metrics shared in ads are the ones they should prioritize. In a new research paper published by the MIT Mobility Initiative, where I’m a senior fellow, I examined the metrics that U.S. carmakers are promoting through their EV marketing. I wanted to understand whether they’re laying the groundwork for satisfied customers and a robust EV market in the years ahead. What I discovered is troubling. Rather than auguring a future of useful and efficient EVs, automakers are emphasizing metrics that portend disappointed customers, wasted resources, and needless road deaths. The auto industry seems to be focused on the wrong numbers. *** Carmakers have long used carefully curated figures to shape consumer perceptions of their products. Featured metrics often reflect the cares of target customers; hauling capacity, for instance, is more likely to appear in an ad for a pickup truck than a sports car. In the 1950s and 1960s, when engine technology was less advanced, many advertisements emphasized a vehicle’s horsepower. After the 1970s oil crisis triggered a spike in gas prices, car companies often publicized their models’ fuel economy, measured in miles per gallon. MPG and horsepower remain common metrics today, along with things like 0-60 times, torque, and engine cylinders. Because of their unique capabilities and limitations, EVs require different measures of their respective strengths and weaknesses. An example: Since electric powertrains offer instant torque, virtually all models can accelerate at what would historically be considered blistering speeds. (GM has introduced SUVs capable of hitting 60 mph in under four seconds, comparable to many gas-powered sports cars.) At the same time, limited public charging stations have fed “range anxiety,” with prospective EV buyers concerned about running out of power, a fear that virtually never arises with gas cars. Automakers make strategic decisions when they select metrics for their EV ads. Will they focus on numbers that are already familiar to owners of gas cars, or will they try to educate them about new ways to assess EV quality? Should they use metrics that make EVs look good, regardless of their utility on the road? How should they address range anxiety? To see how car companies are navigating those decisions, I examined the landing pages for the 10 most popular EV models in the U.S. during 2023, capturing each metric that the carmaker shared with the public (I ignored the specifications typically buried within carmaker websites). I also noted which metrics are presented conspicuously, visible without the need for scrolling. I found several clear patterns, starting with the prominence of EV range. Each website I reviewed shared the model’s range, almost always at the top of the page. Kate Whitefoot, a professor of engineering and public policy at Carnegie Mellon, said she sees the logic behind such placement. “If you can advertise that EVs do have longer range, like up to 300 miles, then consumers are much more willing to purchase EVs and value them equally to gasoline vehicles.” Customer surveys have reached similar conclusions. But there’s a wrinkle: Range anxiety is overblown. The average U.S. driver travels just 40 miles per day, and 19 of every 20 trips are under 30 miles. As the automotive journalist Ed Niedermeyer put it in a New York Times op-ed, “You want an electric car with a 300-mile range? When was the last time you drove 300 miles?” By