Despite rising gas prices, many Seattle-area drivers aren’t switching to EVs
May 22, 2026
A lot of reasons might make someone switch to an electric vehicle. Usually, gas prices on their own are not enough. I ventured across Seattle to find out who was considering EVs and who was sticking to gas despite the pain at the pump.
At an Angle Lake gas station, Tacoma-bound driver Jalen Hall kept glancing over his shoulder, watching the numbers tick up as he squeezed the handle.
“Not too much, not too little, just enough to get me home,” he said.
Today $15.13 was just right.
These high gas prices are a struggle, so he doesn’t fill up all the way. He tries to take public transit when he can, Hall said. Despite the rising cost of fuel, Hall said he is not considering getting an electric car.
First of all, he says he’s a gas car kind of guy. Second, he doesn’t know how he would charge an EV at his apartment building.
Like Hall, many Seattle drivers are not flocking to buy an electric vehicle to avoid sky-high gas prices — at least not yet.
Data from the Washington Department of Licensing doesn’t show a big EV sales spike, though the data lags more than a month behind because sellers have 45 days to submit paperwork to the state.
“From the data perspective, there’s not a really a clear correlation between ‘gas prices go up’ and ‘EV sales go up,’” said Scott Case, CEO of Recurrent, an EV data analytics company based in Seattle.
The main exception was when Russia invaded Ukraine and fuel prices spiked and stayed high for months, he said.
Recurrent, which tries to be the “Carfax of EVs,” analyzed more than a decade of data from the Alternative Fuels Data Center of the U.S. Department of Energy.
The reasons are many why some folks are not eagerly jumping on the electric-powered band wagon.
Drivers at gas stations around the Seattle area listed concerns about price, the new technology, and charging.
RELATED: Why gas prices are so high in Washington state right now
“Any money I would’ve had saved for the EV is already taken up,” said Trez Mountha, who was fueling up at an Arco near Columbia City.
“Costs too much,” said driver Andres Tangalin, who filled up with $25 worth of gas, since that’s what he could afford, he said.
“My mind has gone more to getting an electric bike,” said John Garlid, who was getting gas on the way between choir rehearsal and the gym. E-bikes are easier to budget for, he said, and more fun.
In Angle Lake, Cherry Dicken was filling up her SUV with more than $100 of gas after picking up the kids from school. No EV for her either.
“I hear a lot about the batteries,” she said. She’s turned off by the inconvenience of charging, whereas gas stations are everywhere.
“I’ll stick with gas,” she said.
RELATED: Trump wants to suspend the federal gas tax as prices soar amid war with Iran
Recurrent CEO Case told me I was skewing my informal survey by asking drivers at gas stations.
“They aren’t in market to buy any car, you know?” he said.
Instead, Case said EVs do well among people who are already in the market to get a vehicle. This year more used EVs are for sale.
“For the same amount of money, I can get a car that’s a year newer with 10,000 fewer miles on it and loaded with way more cool technology,” he said. “Why would you buy that Camry?”
A sizeable chunk of the used EVs on the market (39%) go for less than $25,000, according to Recurrent. At Seattle-area dealerships, many used, recent models of EVs are on sale for $16,000 to $30,000, according to their websites. On Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace, models a decade or more old go for around $5,000 or less.
During our interview, Case sat in the driver seat of his Volkswagen ID.BUZZ, a bright blue VW bus-like model of electric vehicle, giving vibes of a 1960s Volkswagen Vanagon — and a magnet for “aging hippies,” he said.
“They really want to tell stories about the time in the 60s when they drove across the country to see a Dead show and met these girls in San Francisco,” he said.
RELATED: She helps families in need. As gas and grocery prices rise, she needs help, too
But this new-age Vanagon does not drive like a hippie wagon. On a little spin around the block, Case stepped on the accelerator and the bottom dropped out of my stomach. I couldn’t help but shriek.
Most Americans have never driven an electric vehicle, according to a survey by Consumer Reports in 2023.
Let’s not forget, this is new technology. The difference between a 10-year-old EV and more recent models can be hundreds of miles of extra range and much quicker charging times.
“People just don’t understand, like, how does it work? How do you plug in? Am I going to electrocute myself?” said Jeff Allen, executive director of the nonprofit EV advocacy organization, Forth.
FILE – An electric vehicle charges at an Electrify America station in Arcadia, Calif., May 22, 2025.
(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
“You know, one of the top Google searches is, ‘Can you take your electric car through a car wash?'” he said. (The answer is yes.)
Plus, buying a car — any car — could be the single most expensive thing a person buys.
“People are not going to invest that kind of money in something they don’t understand,” he said.
In fact, Google searches for electric vehicles recently hit their highest level in five years, according to Google Trends.
But I did meet some people who did make the switch and now whole-heartedly embrace their electric cars: Uber drivers charging up near Sea-Tac International Airport.
Moussa Kebe got his Tesla a few years ago, after renting one for a week.
“The second week I saw that it’s good, and I decided to buy one,” he said. “Definitely I don’t have any problems with my Tesla. It’s a very good car.”
Driver Bereket Abadi got his Tesla a year ago to get an advantage on the app — driving a Tesla qualifies drivers to accept customers who request rides under the “Comfort,” “Electric,” and regular Uber options.
Abadi and Kebe say they are saving money on gas, but they aren’t smug.
“What about the people who use gas?” Abadi said. “I care about those people, too.”
Search
RECENT PRESS RELEASES
Related Post
![[Gasgoo Express] Tesla Officially Announces Supervised FSD Rollout in China; NVIDIA Net In](https://stockwatchindex.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/57b75996-4c94-4d3f-93d3-cc2f0fd7551a-1779481709-thSZwx-500x383.png)
