Super Bowl Watchers Saw Fewer Ads for EVs This Year. About a Third Are Interested in Buying One Within the Next Year

Following a Super Bowl broadcast that featured three commercials for electric vehicles, about a third of adults who watched at least part of the game said they are interested in purchasing an EV within the next year, and nearly double that share said the same for buying one in more than five years, according to a Morning Consult survey conducted after the Kansas City Chiefs’ win over the Philadelphia Eagles. 

Slim majority of Super Bowl watchers interested in buying EV within next five years

• Within the next five years, more than half of U.S. adults who watched Super Bowl LVII said they would be interested in purchasing an electric vehicle, more than 20 percentage points higher than the share who said they were interested in purchasing an EV within the next year. 
• When considering purchases more than five years from now, U.S. adults overall are split between whether they are interested in buying an EV, with 52% saying they are and 48% saying they are not. 
• About 2 in 3 Democrats said they would consider purchasing an EV in more than five years, while roughly 2 in 5 Republicans said the same.
• Annual income levels showed disparities between purchasing consideration, with 70% of adults in households that make more than $100,000 per year saying they were interested in purchasing an EV in more than five years, compared with 43% of adults in households that make less than $50,000 who said the same.

Automakers pump the brakes on commercials, for now

Despite the availability of an EV tax credit, the survey shows that adults are less interested in purchasing right away, a sentiment likely stemming from an inflationary market and high costs for EVs. 

Automakers are feeling it too, and opted for fewer EV commercials during this year’s Super Bowl. Out of the four vehicle advertisements during the Eagles-Chiefs game, three were for EVs. That number is down from a peak of seven EVs commercials during the 2022 Super Bowl. 

The ads did run up some website traffic for Cars.com, with a 21% increase in EV page views across the website and apps, but overall, the ads were not especially memorable or liked. None of the vehicle ads made it into the 10 most-loved Super Bowl ads, according to a Morning Consult analysis. 

The longer-term purchasing consideration could be helpful for automakers selling pickup trucks, like Dodge, which plans to unveil the all-electric Ram Rev in 2024. Meanwhile, Ford Motor Co. and Rivian Automotive currently split the small market, while Tesla Inc. and GM will unveil their trucks later this year. 

Survey conducted Feb. 13-14, 2023, among a representative sample of 3,439 U.S. adults, including 2,373 respondents who said they watched all or part of Super Bowl LVII, with an unweighted margin of error of +/-2 percentage points.