Deloitte, a leading professional services network, has published polling and analysis on the hurdles ahead of EV adoption globally.
Deloitte condensed its findings well in one of the first sentences of its analysis, “interest in electric vehicles grows, but worries about price, range, and charging time remain.” This survey is part of a series that Deloitte has conducted annually for over a decade now called the “Global Automotive Consumer Study.” In this year’s publication, the focus was on electric vehicles.
The first surprising piece of data is how much the United States lags in interest in electric vehicles. Deloitte found that only 8% of respondents were confident that EV was their next vehicle. However, this is an outlier compared to other recent surveys conducted in the U.S. Out of the nations polled by Deloitte, China led in interest in EVs, with over a quarter of respondents saying that their next vehicle would be electric.
Less surprising were the reasons respondents were interested in purchasing an EV. Despite the near-constant messaging from governments, media sites, and automakers alike, the cost of ownership was by far the most significant attractor for consumers. Significantly more swaying than concerns about the environment or concerns about personal health.
Shortly thereafter, Deloitte highlighted the top concerns of consumers if they were to buy an electric vehicle, and unsurprisingly, affordability was the number 1 concern across the board. In the U.S., other top concerns included driving range, charging time, public charging availability, and at-home charging availability. Globally, other than concerns regarding the upfront cost of the EV, charging time, driving range, and charging availability were also top concerns.
Only one country had responses that dramatically differed from the norm, China. Chinese respondents not only stated that the superior driving experience was the top attractor to EVs, but their biggest concern was safety regarding battery technology.
For those who live or have purchased an EV in the U.S., these results should be no surprise. The foremost EV seller in America, Tesla, no longer sells a vehicle below $40,000, and the vast majority of Tesla vehicles sell for much more. To make the problem even worse, traditional budget brands have not yet been able to bring down their prices to parity with gas offerings.
Ford’s F150 Lighting sells for thousands more than its gas counterpart. The first-ever Toyota EV offering, the BZ4X, is multiple times the cost of a base RAV4. And while the Chevy Bolt has become popular specifically for its affordability, it remains far more expensive than gas vehicles in its class.
The other area where EVs aren’t meeting customer expectations is in the driving range they are capable of. An astounding 19% of respondents stated that they would want a vehicle with a minimum range of 600 miles, while the plurality of respondents expected more than 300 miles of range. And while many may believe that these expectations are unfairly high compared to gas vehicles, perhaps this is also a messaging problem that automakers must solve in the coming year.
These results do come with the caveat that they varied quite considerably from market to market. Noticeably, Southeast Asian respondents needed the least amount of range, while respondents from Europe and the U.S. stated they needed the most.
On a more positive note, Deloitte was able to find areas where advancement in EV technology has finally been able to meet consumer expectations. The vast majority of respondents stated that they were willing to wait either between 10-20min or 20-40min for a complete charge, and over 40% of respondents stated they would be willing to wait a max of 20min.
While these expectations are high, they are finally within reach of many popular vehicles. Hyundai’s fastest charging vehicles will charge from 10-80% in 18min, while Teslas that plug into the newest generation Supercharger are charging to 80% in a similar timeframe.
For someone who spends their time immersed in the world of electric vehicles, such as myself, it can come across as a culture shock hearing about the concerns and motivators that are affecting the purchasing choices of the people that live around me. Still, perhaps it is an important exercise to step away from the keyboard and see what others really think. And for manufacturers, data like that collected by Deloitte can be a powerful tool showing where consumer attention is and what is affecting how they spend their money.
What do you think of the article? Do you have any comments, questions, or concerns? Shoot me an email at william@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @WilliamWritin. If you have news tips, email us at tips@teslarati.com!
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Tesla announces major milestone at Gigafactory Shanghai
First deliveries started in December 2019, with the first units being given to employees. By the end of 2020, the plant was building cars at a run rate of around 150,000 vehicles annually.
Tesla has announced a major milestone at its Chinese manufacturing facility, Gigafactory Shanghai, confirming on Monday that it had built its four millionth vehicle.
Tesla Gigafactory Shanghai first started building cars back in October 2019 with Model 3 assembly, just ten months after the company broke ground on the plant’s 86-hectare piece of land.
First deliveries started in December 2019, with the first units being given to employees. By the end of 2020, the plant was building cars at a run rate of around 150,000 vehicles annually. Production continued to ramp up, and by September 2023, less than three years after it started building Tesla’s EVs, it had built its two millionth vehicle.
Fast forward to December 2025, and Tesla has confirmed that four million cars have rolled off of production lines at the plant, a major milestone in the six short years it has been active:
Produced our 4 millionth vehicle at Gigafactory Shanghai🎉
Thanks to all our owners and supporters❤️ pic.twitter.com/DayVXUr220— Tesla Asia (@Tesla_Asia) December 8, 2025
The capacity at Giga Shanghai is exceeding 950,000 vehicles per year, and this year, the company has delivered 675,000 cars through the first three quarters. It is also the only plant to manufacture the Model Y L, a longer wheel-based configuration of the all-electric crossover that is exclusive to the Chinese market.
Gigafactory Shanghai’s four million cars have not all stayed within the domestic market, either. For a considerable period, the factory was exporting a significant portion of its monthly production to Europe, helping Gigafactory Berlin supplement some Model Y volume and all of its Model 3 deliveries. This is due to the Berlin plant’s exclusive production plans for the Model 3.
The site is one of the most crucial in the company’s global plans, and Gigafactory Shanghai’s incredible pace, which has led to four million production units in just about six years. It’s fair to say that it won’t be long until we’re seeing Tesla celebrate the plant’s five millionth vehicle produced, which should happen sometime late next year or in early 2027, based on its current manufacturing pace.
The company also builds the Megapack on the property in an adjacent Megafactory.
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Tesla gamifies Supercharging with new ‘Charging Passport’
It will also include things like badges for special charging spots, among other metrics that will show all of the different places people have traveled to plug in for range.
Tesla is gamifying its Supercharging experience by offering a new “Charging Passport,” hoping to add a new layer to the ownership experience.
While it is not part of the Holiday Update, it is rolling out around the same time and offers a handful of cool new features.
Tesla’s Charging Passport will be available within the smartphone app and will give a yearly summary of your charging experience, helping encapsulate your travel for that year.
It will also include things like badges for special charging spots, among other metrics that will show all of the different places people have traveled to plug in for range.
Tesla has just introduced “Charging Passport,” a new yearly summary of your charging.
• Charging badges: Iconic Charging badge (for visiting places like the Tesla Diner, Oasis Supercharger, etc), Explorer badge, green saver badge, etc.
• Total unique Superchargers visited
•… pic.twitter.com/c1DHTWXpj7— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) December 8, 2025
Tesla will include the following metrics within the new Charging Passport option within the Tesla app:
- Charging badges: Iconic charging badges for visiting places like the Tesla Diner, Oasis Supercharger, etc., Explorer Badge, and more
- Total Unique Superchargers Visited
- Total Charging Sessions
- Total Miles Added during Charging Sessions
- Top Charging Day
- Longest Trip
- Favorite Charging Locations
This will give people a unique way to see their travels throughout the year, and although it is not necessarily something that is needed or adds any genuine value, it is something that many owners will like to look back on. After all, things like Spotify Wrapped and Apple Music Replay have been a great way for people to see what music they listened to throughout the year.
This is essentially Tesla’s version of that.
With a handful of unique Superchargers already active, Tesla is also building some new ones, like a UFO-inspired location in New Mexico, near Roswell.
Tesla is building a new UFO-inspired Supercharger in the heart of Alien country
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Tesla launches its coolest gift idea ever just a few weeks after it was announced
“Gift one month of Full Self-Driving (Supervised), which allows the vehicle to drive itself almost anywhere with minimal intervention.”
Tesla has launched its coolest gift idea ever, just a few weeks after it was announced.
Tesla is now giving owners the opportunity to gift Full Self-Driving for one month to friends or family through a new gifting program that was suggested to the company last month.
The program will enable people to send a fellow Tesla owner one month of the company’s semi-autonomous driving software, helping them to experience the Full Self-Driving suite and potentially help Tesla gain them as a subscriber of the program, or even an outright purchase.
Tesla is going to allow owners to purchase an FSD Subscription for another owner for different month options
You’ll be able to gift FSD to someone! https://t.co/V29dhf5URj
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 3, 2025
Tesla has officially launched the program on its Shop. Sending one month of Full Self-Driving costs $112:
“Gift one month of Full Self-Driving (Supervised), which allows the vehicle to drive itself almost anywhere with minimal intervention. All sales are final. Can only be purchased and redeemed in the U.S. This gift card is valued at $112.00 and is intended to cover the price of one month of FSD (Supervised), including up to 13% sales tax. It is not guaranteed to cover the full monthly price if pricing or tax rates change. This gift card can be stored in Tesla Wallet and redeemed toward FSD (Supervised) or any other Tesla product or service that accepts gift card payments.”
Tesla has done a great job of expanding Full Self-Driving access over the past few years, especially by offering things like the Subscription program, free trials through referrals, and now this gift card program.
Gifting Full Self-Driving is another iteration of Tesla’s “butts in seats” strategy, which is its belief that it can flip consumers to its vehicles and products by simply letting people experience them.
There is also a reason behind pushing Full Self-Driving so hard, and it has to do with CEO Elon Musk’s compensation package. One tranche requires Musk to achieve a certain number of active paid Full Self-Driving subscriptions.
More people who try the suite are likely to pay for it over the long term.
Tesla announces major milestone at Gigafactory Shanghai
Tesla gamifies Supercharging with new ‘Charging Passport’
