Myth Busted - Many EV Owners Do Buy Gas-Powered Cars After Owning an EV

One common saying about electric vehicles is that “Once you buy an EV, you never go back to an internal combustion engine powered vehicle.” We polled EV owners to see if that were true, and here is what owners say. 

Electric vehicles are passing beyond the early adopter stage in their evolution. Today, many EV owners are on their second, third, or even fourth electric vehicles. Without a doubt, EVs drive well, and they save a lot of gas. This has led to many advocates and owners saying “Once you own an electric vehicle, you never go back to gas.” Let’s examine this topic a bit and review the results of four polls we conducted asking owners in some of the largest EV clubs on social media what they have actually done. Before we begin, let's dispense with the straw man argument. Here are examples of folks claiming that EV owners never go back to liquid-fueled vehicles after owning an EV.

Elektrek - Once you go electric, you don’t go back: survey shows less than 1% of EV owners want to go back to gas  

Inside EVs - Survey Reveals Electric Car Owners Almost Never Go Back To Gas    

Axios - Most electric car buyers don't switch back to gas    

As you can see, many stories have been created implying that EV owners never buy another vehicle that isn’t fully electric. We decided to see what owners of EVs said themselves. We created polls in large social media clubs and asked Tesla Model Y, Chevrolet Bolt/Bolt EUV, Ford Mustang Mach-E, and Volkswagen ID.4 owners if they have purchased a car other than an EV since they bought their very first EV, regardless of what EV that was. As we mentioned above, many EV owners have now owned multiple EVs. Here are the poll results along with some comments. 

Tesla Model Y - 34% of Owners Have Subsequently Purchased a Non-EV
The Tesla Model Y club embraced the poll. 253 owners answered, and 74 commented on the poll. 18% have purchased a gasoline-powered vehicle, and 3 percent have purchased a diesel truck. 3 percent of owners have purchased multiple non-EVs since they first purchased an EV. 

Here are some of the comments under the poll placed by members of the Model Y club:
-Tesla is our go-to vehicle for around-town trips. However, I greatly prefer my ICE SUV for trips longer than 2 hours.
-EVs aren't available for every vehicle type. -We love our old Dodge minivan, for instance. There's no Tesla for that. As an auto enthusiast, I love sports cars like the $70K Corvette. There's no Tesla equivalent for that, either.
-One Tesla and eight other ICE vehicles. Tesla is purely a cheap commuter car for me.
-BEVs have their place, but there is so much I like to do that BEVs aren’t great at.

In addition to the comments from Tesla Model Y owners explaining why they still buy ICE cars, there were many comments that espoused the all-EV lifestyle. 
-Been driving EVs since 2012.
-I’ve also not purchased a rotary telephone, sent a telegram, or used a washboard. (sarcasm, obviously)

Chevrolet Bolt/Bolt EUV - 46% of Owners Have Subsequently Purchased a Non-EV
The Chevrolet Bolt and Bolt EUV club on Facebook is a fantastic club. The members are motivated to tell folks good things about their beloved Bolts and Bolt EUVs, and the club is mainly upbeat and positive. Credit the admin and moderators (I’m not part of that team). I think many owners would agree that the Bolt and Bolt EUV is not intended to be an all-around one-stop solution to all driving needs. The Bolt and Bolt EUV are the best at what they do, but towing, large family use, and off-pavement use are not counted among the many things the Bolt can do well. So we expected some owners would have other types of vehicles, and we were correct. 

Almost 600 owners responded to the poll, and 78 owners offered comments. 22% of Bolt owners have purchased a gas vehicle since they got their first EV (remember, it does not have to be a Bolt). 6% have purchased hybrids, and 2% diesel trucks. Here are some comments that Bolt owners offered to explain why they bought vehicles other than electric since they got their first electric vehicle.
-Just sold my Bolt EUV. Grabbing a 2024 Outback to replace.
-Regular 4x4 pickup for hauling firewood and when it snows/heavy rain.
-AWD ICE SUV pulls our utility trailer and is used for road trips. However, we put most of our miles on the Bolt as it is our errand mobile and is used for most of our driving needs.

As with the Tesla Model Y owners, many Bolt owners wished to express how strongly they support owning only EVs going forward. Here are some comments along those lines.
-I’ll never buy a new gas car again.
-As soon as they start making vehicles and equipment that can replace my diesels I’ll make that switch in an instant.
-I'm on my 5th & 6th EVs, but have owned two hybrids since my first EV, over 10 years ago.

Volkswagen ID.4 - 26% of Owners Have Purchased a Gas-powered Vehicle Since Buying First EV
The Volkswagen ID.4 is the most recently-released model on our list of four EVs. Therefore, for the folks who bought an ID.4 as their first vehicle, it is very likely they have not bought any other type of vehicle since getting an EV. Still, more than one in four of ID.4 owners have purchased a gas or diesel vehicle since buying their first EV. Here are some comments from owners.
-I had EV and switched back to gas/diesel. --Was living in an apartment that had a charger, but it was nonstop issues with charging. 
-After I bought my wife's ID.4 I bought a 40th-anniversary GTI, and our daughter a used Golf.
-A Tiguan and a Tacoma: different vehicles for different tasks.

Some ID.4 owners wished to express their support for the all-EV lifestyle. They said the following.
-We got rid of our last ICE vehicle mid 2023 after having our ID4 for two years.
-I'm never EVER going back to Hydrocarbon vehicles.
-Nope. We currently lease two BEVs and have four reserved.

Ford Mustang Mach-E - 38% of Owners Have Purchased a Non-EV
The Ford Mustang Mach-E poll we conducted had less than 100 respondents, so we left it for last. A little over one in three owners have purchased a gas-powered vehicle since they got their first EV. Five percent have bought a diesel truck. Here are some comments folks posted under the poll.
-Happy to be an EV-only household over here. (Image of F-150 Lightning next to Mach-E provided)
-Yes. Share vehicles with my spouse. No way we could be exclusively EV with where life takes us.

Why We Suspect More EV Owners Will Buy Non-EVs Than This Poll Suggests
One thing we realized that makes this poll lean in favor of the “All EV” crowd, is that many EV owners may be recent first-time EV owners who only recently purchased their first EV. For example, one poll comment was, “I haven’t owned any other cars, period, since I only got my Bolt about a year and a half ago.” 

Another aspect of the poll comments we noticed was that many respondents commented about owning vintage and antique gas-powered vehicles, and the comment was along the lines of “Voted all-EV, but I have bought these (classics or antiques).” In our opinion, this is just fine. One comment we liked was, “I am planning on buying a 1930s or 40s car as a weekend toy/project for fun.” Others asked if they could have an exemption for a motorcycle. To which I’d reply, “Sure.” Our intent here was to see how many folks tried an EV and then later bought a vehicle with a gas engine they intended to drive more or less regularly. 

Our Conclusion On EV Owners Buying Non-EVs
The poll results prove that many EV owners have purchased non-EVs since they first owned an EV. The rate ranges from roughly one in four to roughly half. Keeping in mind that these polls were done in fan clubs for the EVs, we feel the poll is valid. The comments are also great. Many folks simply say “ I would be all-EV, but there is not a practical or available EV for all the types of vehicle needs I have.” We get that. If the imaginary $39K Ford F-150 Lightning electric truck had been real, we suspect that many folks would have gotten an EV truck instead of a gas-powered one. As we now know, every EV truck is very expensive and often close to $100K. 

We will run this poll again in a few years. Our suspicion is that the number of folks who own an EV and then return to a non-EV may actually increase. That is because many of the EVs in our poll are new to the market, and we suspect many owners bought them as their first EVs. As time passes, they will need practical gas-powered and hybrid vehicles to add to their family fleet. 

One conclusion we can say with confidence is that folks who purchased an EV for what it is great at, for example, as a cost-effective local daily driver, will not return to a non-EV for that duty. Why would they? EVs absolutely have strengths, and in certain applications they are the slam dunk best type of vehicle for most owners. We also suspect that the folks who want the highest-performance vehicle possible for occasional use will start to turn towards EVs. As the population of enthusiasts ages, younger enthusiasts will embrace high-power performance EVs as the default best go-fast fun car they can buy. 
 

John Goreham is an experienced New England Motor Press Association member and expert vehicle tester. John completed an engineering program with a focus on electric vehicles, followed by two decades of work in high-tech, biopharma, and the automotive supply chain before becoming a news contributor. In addition to his eleven years of work at Torque News, John has published thousands of articles and reviews at American news outlets. He is known for offering unfiltered opinions on vehicle topics. You can follow John on Twitter, and connect with him at Linkedin.

Image of Model 3 and Model Y at Tesla dealership by John Goreham. Image of Tesla Model 3 and Model Y inside showroom by John Goreham. Image of Chevrolet Bolt EUV atop Mt. Washington by John Goreham. Image of 2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E cars in a line at dealership by John Goreham. Poll screenshots by John Gorehamand courtesy of Meta.