Lack of market popularity . I mean people will use the excuse that the oil companies are holding them back . But how ? the technology is out now , everybody knows they exist and they are free to buy one whenever they want , but they don ' t . It ' s partly an ego thing electric cars , while practical , just aren ' t cool in the eyes of the masses . I mean , it might help if you make them look sportier and more powerful , but many at the moment just give off an air of nerd to them . This is coming from someone whose fond of the concept of electric cars but not much of a fan of how they usually look not that it matters to me , I can ' t afford anything better than to hold onto my shitty 16 year old Rav 4 anywayAnother reason is cost , people think in the shortterm when it comes to cars and the initial costs of electric cars seem to make them pricier , and I hear they ' re more expensive to servicemaintain too correct me if I ' m wrong though for many living paycheck to paycheck it ' s just easier to afford to fill ' er up every week . But I still say public demand speaks volumes for the success of anything . Find a way to make electric cars cheaper and cooler and suddenly everyone will want one .