ALEXANDRIA, Va.—The Biden Administration is pushing for half of all new car sales to be electric by 2030. But while automakers are investing billions to produce battery-powered vehicles, they face several serious problems, and reception of EVs is still mixed.

According to CNBC, the new EV technology has come with a steep cost, including reputation-damaging vehicle fires, major recalls, sudden power losses and problems getting some of the cars started. While costly recalls occur in traditional vehicles, many of the current EV trouble spots are rooted in software and battery issues, crucial areas of EVs’ designs that are not historically areas of expertise for automakers.

“When you go from gas to electric, there’s going to be a whole new set of problems you have to deal with, and we just have to figure out how to deal with issues that we haven’t had to deal with in the past,” said Sam Abuelsamid, principal analyst, Guidehouse, a global consultancy.

Automakers GM, Porsche, Ford, BMW, Volvo and others have all experienced issues with recalls or software, and while Tesla has avoided massive EV recalls because of battery issues, the company is being investigated by federal officials in the U.S. and Norway.

Survey results released in June by Pew Research found that 47% of U.S. adults support the plan to phase out production of gasoline-powered cars and trucks, while 51% oppose it. Among survey respondents who said they know a lot about EVs, 53% are at least somewhat likely to consider an EV purchase in the future, but 39% say they are not too likely or at all likely to do so.

Millennials are more open to the idea of buying an EV, especially when compared to Baby Boomers. The same survey also found that younger generations are more receptive to the idea of phasing out gasoline-powered vehicles. More than half of Gen Z (56%) and millennial (57%) adults favor phasing out production of gas-powered vehicles by 2035, compared with lower shares of Gen X (45%) and older Americans (38%).

Don’t forget to register to attend the 2021 NACS Show October 5-8, at McCormick Place in Chicago and take advantage of the education sessions on EVs, including the sessions EV 101: What is EV/EV Charging and Why It's Important on October 5, EV 201: How Do I Do EV? on October 6 and EV 301: The Economics of EV Charging on October 7.