How to Connect with Today’s Electric Vehicle Audiences and Align with Future Growth

The electric vehicle (EV) market continues to see robust year on year growth. In 2023 electric vehicle sales grew to nearly $14 million* with the share of environmentally conscious cars accounting for 18% of total vehicles on the road. To understand the true nature of this market and to optimize commercial growth, auto brands must look beyond the sales figures and dive into audience insights  to understand the consumers most attracted to this emerging and popular automotive category.

For automotive brands and marketers, the complicated nature of the EV market requires intelligence—market intelligence and audience intelligence. Only with a strong data-backed foundation of intelligence can brand hope to understand and appropriately target and message the audiences most likely to be considering EVs as their next car purchase.

In this post, in partnership with Polk Automotive Solutions (S&P Global Mobility), we’ll look at what auto marketers need to understand about today’s EV market landscape and audiences.

The Complicated 2025 EV Market Landscape

Today’s EV space is one marked by growth and opportunity—but that doesn’t mean it’s not without its challenges. Even though industry and macroeconomic factors are helping drive adoption of EV vehicles, pricing, battery technology, and charging infrastructure remain barriers to a larger number of consumers moving toward EVs. 

Interestingly, according to recent consumer sentiment data from S&P Global Mobility, skepticism toward EV technology continues to grow, and confidence in EV technology has decreased since 2021. Despite that, more consumers today are considering an EV for their next vehicle purchase compared to 2023.

As brands move forward in this space, here are a few key trends to keep in mind:

Market Share Is Shifting. Just a couple of years ago, Tesla commanded 80 percent of the EV market. Today, however, non-Tesla brands hold 50 percent of the U.S. EV market.

Competition Is Increasing. According to S&P Global Mobility’s recent report, non-Tesla EV new registration volume grew 75 percent in April and 48 percent in May, making up for Tesla declines and fueling overall EV growth. A total of 16 brands enjoyed EV year-over-year increases in April and May, with Hyundai and Ford representing the biggest contributors.

EV Options Are Expanding. More consumer choice within the EV category is on the horizon. S&P Global Mobility estimates more than 50 new vehicle launches in 2025, with half being EVs. With more electric vehicles across every brand, both mainstream and luxury, marketers will have to refine their audience strategies to ensure they’re connecting to the best prospects for the inventory they have today while also building a pipeline for forthcoming launches. 

Find the Right EV Audiences with Polk Audiences and Data Solutions

If you're an automotive marketer, you're most likely immersed in planning for an EV launch. A critical starting point for success lies in identifying the most promising prospects within your existing customer base. Gaining a clear understanding of their buying behaviors and pinpointing those most likely to be in the market for an EV is essential.

Ownership data offers a wealth of insights to enhance your customer profiles and maximize their potential. This data can help answer critical questions, such as:

• What other vehicles do they own?
• Do they tend to lease or buy vehicles?
• Are they loyal to a specific fuel type, brand, or vehicle segment?

By analyzing the vehicles your customers already own, you can build richer, more detailed profiles to fine-tune your messaging and target the ideal audience for your EV launch. Furthermore, these insights enable you to identify households with similar profiles, expanding your reach and uncovering new prospects to drive additional sales.

Polk Automotive Solutions (S&P Global Mobility) provides the most complete and accurate automotive data to help marketers connect more effectively with EV consumers. These addressable digital audience profiles enable advertisers to target their ideal customers by:

• Vehicle Price Class
• Vehicle Fuel Type
• Vehicle Make
• Vehicle Model
• Vehicle Segment

*source: iea50

Ready to connect with today’s EV audiences? Download the Polk Automotive Electric Vehicle Audiences Guide today and contact the Eyeota Data Desk to learn more! 👇