More car buyers are shifting to EVs — but the reasons why are nuanced

Customers are continuing to shift to electric vehicles, but industry analysts say the picture is complicated. A rising share of car buyers traded their gas cars in for EVs in April, according to data Edmunds shared with CNBC. In January, 67.1% of buyers purchasing a new EV at dealerships traded in a gas car. By April, that climbed 7%, to 72.1%, according to the auto site. The data also showed that EV loyalty numbers are rising: In January, 26.2% of buyers traded in an older EV for a new EV and 34.3% traded for a used one. Those numbers rose, as of April 26, to 35.4% and 44.5%, respectively. These data points indicate EV interest is growing, despite the loss of federal and some state incentives that encouraged consumers to purchase the vehicles, and a pivot among many automakers back to internal combustion and hybrid vehicles. Analysts and industry insiders have cited rising fuel prices as a possible factor motivating these decisions. The national average gas prices has risen roughly 44% from the same period a year ago, according to AAA . Edmunds Senior Director of Insights Ivan Drury said it's still a bit too early to tell if this is a strong, lasting shift. Oil and gas prices started rising after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28. About three more months of high gas prices and elevated EV trade-in numbers will give a better indication of whether customers feel pinched enough at the pump to consider a switch, Drury said. …