Stubbornly high gas prices and growing concern about a looming recession have been worrying consumers as they look to household budgets.
Throw in record inflation and many people have decided that it is time to jump into completely new territory, like the electric car market.
Before the twin specters of $5 gallons of gas and an 8.3% inflation rate, most consumers associated electric cars with pricey brands like Tesla (TSLA) and the Toyota Prius (TOYOF) .
While those carmakers may have introduced people to the concept of charging their own cars, it has taken major pain at the pump to push consumers in checking out what other electric cars are on offer.
Now, there's proof that they have started buying EVs when they find the right price point.
New EV Registrations Leap
A new study from Experian shows that registrations for electric vehicles shot up 60% in the first three months of 2022, as new buyers moved toward products that aren't at the mercy of oil and gas swings.
An earlier Experian report found that more Americans are financing electric vehicles as well.
The data also found buyers aren't only splashing out for higher-end carmaker brands.
While 113,882 new Teslas (TSLA) were registered in the time period, there were 8,450 new Kia EVs (KIMTF) , 7,407 new electric Fords (F) and 6,964 new Hyundai (HYMLF) electric models.
That shows growing consumer interest in more affordable electric vehicles, as households with less spending power look to democratize EVs.
That finding is inline with earlier April data that showed interest in the electric car market soaring 70% since January 2022.
That data comes from Recurrent, which took a deep dive look at a market that was worth $163.01 billion in 2020 and is projected to be worth $823.74 billion by 2030.
While previously only about 4% of the American car market was electric, Experian's new numbers have bumped that percentage up to 4.6%.
More Choices Mean More Buyers
Consumers are also about to have a lot more choices when they shop for EVs.
An earlier report from the Environmental Defense Fund outlined just how far automakers are looking ahead.
It found that over a dozen carmakers in America have rolled out plans to open EV manufacturing sites, spending $75 billion in six new states nationwide.
That is in addition to the $515 billion global auto companies are spending to build electric vehicles by 2030, when more than 100 new EV models are estimated to be on the market, the report found.
Even tech darling Apple (AAPL)— which has fans who are arguably as rabid as Tesla's — appears to be getting ready to debut its own electric vehicle.
