Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing has been a hot spot of political divide. Some believe the same is true of electric vehicle (EV) adoption.
Regarding the latter, data indicates the partisan divide in EV ownership in the U.S. isn’t as wide as believed. That could be a good thing for investors and assets such as the KraneShares Electric Vehicles and Future Mobility ETF (KARS).
KARS isn’t a dedicated U.S. fund. But this country ranks as one of the largest automobile markets in the world,. So how politics the industry and EV adoption is relevant to investors. Translation: The more EV adopters, regardless of personal politics, they better for KARS.
Partisanship Shouldn’t Hinder EV Adoption
It’s easy to say everyone likes cutting or eliminating their gasoline bills. It’s also easy to say there shouldn’t be a political monopoly on environmental stewardship. Getting people to believe those statements isn’t always easy. But if those statements are assumed to be true, the field for domestic EV adoption broadens and data suggests it’s broader than many believe it to be.
“In nine of the 31 states and DC that register voters by party, for example, more Republicans voters are linked to records of electric vehicles – including insurance and repair records – than Democrats. Republicans, independents and third-party voters associated with electric vehicles also exceed Democrats in 24 of those states,” reported Alex Leeds Matthews for CNN.
What’s interesting about that data as it relates to KARS and other investments is that it implies EV adoption isn’t confined to the West Coast and the Boston-to-Washington corridor. The research was conducted by the Environmental Defense Fund Action. It leveraged data from political firm L2 — a seller of voter and consumer data.
The data isn’t complete. And there may well be a blue/red divide when it comes to EV ownership in some or many states. But there’s evidence that chasm isn’t wide as previously thought. That could be a sign EV buyers aren’t consumed by politics. They simply want an EV.
“The group’s findings, which still paint an incomplete picture of the market, show that former President Donald Trump won six states where registered Republicans were associated with more than half of the electric vehicles on the roads,” according to CNN.
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