Americans Have Always Bought Too Much Car. Now They’re Doing It With Electrical vehicles

tech.hindustantimes.com:

For US electric car shoppers, the magic number on range seems to be about 300 miles: In a survey commissioned by Bloomberg, nearly two-thirds of 5,500 respondents said that 300-plus miles of range was adequate to their needs, while less than 10% would settle for 200 or less. A 2021 Cox Automotive survey found similar results: an average desired range of 341 miles among people considering EVs.

Yet there is a glaring disconnect between what American drivers want and what they actually need: Some 95% of US car trips are 30 miles or less.

“We're in this education phase of electrification,” says Stephanie Valdez-Streaty, director of EV research and development at Cox Automotive Mobility. “We're getting consumers to understand: How often do I drive? Where am I going to be able to charge? What do I need for my lifestyle? As consumers start to get more educated, they may realize they don't need a vehicle that has a 400-mile range.”

For now, automakers are responding in kind to Americans' outsized range expectations, introducing more EVs with bigger, longer-lasting batteries and eliminating smaller models. Of the more than 80 EV models and their various trims currently available in the US, all but three — the BMW Mini Cooper SE, the base model of the Nissan Leaf, and a smaller battery version of the Porsche Taycan — come with at least 200 miles of range. Nearly 40% come with at least 300 miles.

Buying too much car is an American tradition that predates the emergence of electric vehicles. The US is, after all, the country that decided the Hummer would make a good car for trips to the mall. But while overbuying on a combustion-engine vehicle usually means getting more seats, cargo space or horsepower than is routinely necessary, with