( CNN ) -- President Barack Obama 's goal of putting 1 million electric cars on U.S. roads by 2015 could run into a huge roadblock -- the American consumer . According to a report released Wednesday by researchers at Indiana University , automakers are unlikely to manufacture enough cars to reach the president 's goal because of a potential lack of buyer demand . Nissan and General Motors , makers of the Leaf and Volt , respectively , already have the capacity to produce enough cars to meet the goal . Serious questions remain , however , about the level of desire among potential buyers worried about cost , ease of use and likely resale value . `` After the early adopters , what is going to motivate the mainstream people to buy the vehicles ? '' asked Gurminder Bedi , a retired Ford Motor Co. executive and one of the authors of the report . `` Buying an electric vehicle just by itself , because it 's better for gas mileage , will be a good factor . But that 's not going to be sufficient . '' Bedi nevertheless praised Obama 's goal , noting that it `` has really jump started '' the market for electric cars . `` I 'd say there will be more electric vehicles by 2015 than there would have been if that initiative had n't been started , '' he said . In 2008 , there were nearly 57,000 electric cars on U.S. roads , according to an estimate by the U.S. Energy Information Administration . The administration has created a number of incentives for consumers to purchase electric cars , including a $ 7,500 tax credit to first-time buyers .
Study : Obama may not reach goal of putting 1 million electric cars on U.S. roads by 2015 . Comment: The White House has created incentives to encourage the purchase of electric cars .