The possibility of gas savings is the top perk of electric vehicles: 73% of adults said it would make them more inclined to consider buying or leasing one.

62% of consumers said a lack of charging stations would make them less likely to consider an electric vehicle, while 60% named higher upfront car costs as a downside.

With more battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids on the road than any country other than China and domestic auto companies like Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. investing in new electric models, the United States is a clear leader in the electric vehicle space. But while analysts continue to forecast growth in the U.S. market, electric vehicles still make up just a sliver of overall domestic car sales at 1.2 percent, according to International Energy Agency data.

Expanding that share is likely to prove difficult, according to new polling from Morning Consult, which found that while about 1 in 2 adults say they would be very or somewhat likely to buy or lease a hybrid if shopping for a car in the next decade, just 1 in 3 said the same about all-electric cars, even as battery costs continue to drop and charging infrastructure expands.

The results of the survey of 2,201 U.S. adults, conducted March 15-17, suggest that electric car makers not only have to overcome consumers’ perceptions of the vehicles’ infrastructure-related disadvantages; they must also figure out how to educate potential buyers on the government incentives available to them.

In the poll, people received descriptions of several types of electric vehicles — all-electric, hybrid electric and plug-in hybrid electric — and were asked about specific factors that could influence their decision to buy them. The key roadblocks to potential increased sales include concern over the potential unavailability of or distance to charging stations (62 percent said this would make them less likely to consider an electric vehicle) and high upfront costs (60 percent). The poll’s margin of error is 2 percentage points.

Obstacles and benefits of electric vehicles

Range anxiety, or concern among drivers that an electric vehicle might run out of power before they reach their destination, is a well-researched worry, though studies have indicated that most car trips can be completed with an electric vehicle.

The proportion of adults concerned about charging is even greater among the 733 adults who said they were likely to consider buying or leasing an electric vehicle and the 1,117 people who would consider a hybrid vehicle, with 66 percent and 73 percent of those subgroups, respectively, identifying the charging issue as a downside. The margins of error for likely electric vehicle and hybrid buyers are 4 and 3 points, respectively.