Global EV affordability surges while U.S. lags due to policy gaps, trade barriers, and automotive culture
Original framing: “EVs are getting more affordable worldwide — except in the U.S.” — Rest of World
The U.S. lag in EV adoption mirrors its delayed embrace of solar power in the 1970s, when fossil fuel subsidies and automotive lobbying stifled renewable innovation. The Interstate Highway Act of 1956 and redlining policies entrenched car dependency, while China’s post-1978 economic reforms prioritized state-led industrial policy, enabling its EV dominance today. The 1973 oil crisis spurred temporary U.S. EV interest, but the Reagan administration dismantled energy efficiency programs, setting the stage for today’s lag.
The U.S. EV lag is not a market failure but a policy failure, rooted in a century of fossil fuel entrenchment, automotive industry capture, and racialized urban planning.
While China’s state-led industrial policy and European incentive structures drove EV affordability, the U.S. fragmented its approach, prioritizing legacy automakers and SUV culture over systemic decarbonization. Indigenous knowledge, marginalized communities, and cross-cultural models (e.g., African micro-mobility, Japanese kei cars) offer blueprints for equitable transition, yet these are sidelined by a narrative that frames U.S. underperformance as inevitable. The solution requires dismantling regulatory capture, enforcing antitrust laws, and centering mobility justice—transforming EVs from a luxury good into a public good. This realignment would not only reduce emissions but also address historical injustices in transportation policy, from redlining to highway construction through Black neighborhoods.