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International Study Shows Global Gains in Consideration of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles
27 June 2008
Electric cars and vehicles with hybrid drive are generating strong interest among motorists worldwide, according to a survey commissioned by international automotive supplier Continental. A total of 36.0% of those surveyed were willing to buy a car with hybrid drive while 45.8% were interested in purchasing an electric car. Environmental considerations and increasing fuel prices were equally important motivators.
At the beginning of this year, TNS/Infratest surveyed approximately 1,000 motorists each in China, Germany, France, UK, Japan, Austria, Switzerland and the USA (8,058 motorists total) on behalf of Continental AG. The study focused on the motorists’ current state of knowledge and opinions of hybrid drive systems, their driving styles and their views on battery-powered cars.
This trend holds great potential for us as an automotive supplier and provider of environmentally-friendly drive technologies.
—Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann, Executive Board member and Chief Technology Officer of Continental AG
Worldwide, 45% of all motorists reported that increasing fuel prices have forced them to change their driving behavior to lower their fuel consumption. At 62.6%, the Japanese have changed their driving behavior the most in response to higher diesel and gasoline prices, followed by Germans at 55.2%. The figure among Americans was 42.8%. The exceptions to this were the British and the Chinese, with 60% of the first and 48.9% of the second not adjusting their driving behavior at all, even when faced with increasing fuel costs.
The upward trend in fuel prices is feeding greater interest in alternative drive systems, but the study indicates that awareness of such systems varies greatly around the world. About one in five motorists thinks immediately of hybrid drives. This type of drive is best-known among the Japanese at 46.9%. Only 6.6% of Americans and only 3.9% of the British are familiar with the hybrid drive, according to the survey.
With an average recognition of 16.8%, the pure electric drive comes in second. Austrians and French at 33.3% and 31.7%, respectively, mentioned this variant even more frequently than the hybrid drive. Further fuel-efficient drive systems are diesel (14.1%) and cars powered by natural gas (11.4%). Fully 81.7% of the Chinese knew nothing of fuel-efficient drives.
When asked what they associate with hybrid technologies and hybrid drives, more than one-third (36.4%) of motorists state that the drives are a combination of electric and combustion engines. One in five referenced environmental and economic factors.
Hybrid drives present significant savings potential, especially in urban traffic, where the vast majority of motorists can be found each day: 85.7% of motorists travel less than 30,000 kilometers (18,641 miles) a year, more than two thirds (69%) primarily in urban traffic. In Japan, 63.7% of motorists stated that they drive less than 10,000 kilometers (6,200 miles) per year, of which 63.7% were on short routes or in urban traffic.
A total of 36% of respondents are definitely interested and very likely to purchase a vehicle with hybrid drive. Respondents in high-growth coastal regions of China were even more enthused: After the technology is explained, more than half of Chinese motorists (53.8%) can imagine purchasing a hybrid vehicle. Only 27.4% of Germans were prepared to make such a purchase decision. A majority of motorists would be interested, though, if the government provides tax incentives for the purchase of hybrid vehicles. More than half of the respondents (64.2%) would then consider purchasing a hybrid car. These incentives are even more decisive for Germans (66.6%), Austrians (67.6%) and British (69.6%).
Thus far, more than half of international motorists (58.1%) assume that environmentally friendly hybrid drives have higher purchase costs compared to conventional cars. French assume an average of €4,651 in additional costs, but they also expect the greatest reduction in cost at €4,411. Americans, in contrast, believe the purchase price to be €2,801 above that of conventional vehicles and expect cost savings of around €2,364. An average of 50.8% of motorists are not prepared to pay more for a hybrid vehicle. The other half could envision investing up to €2,781 in a more environmentally friendly vehicle. [€1 = US$1.58]
The study also shows that attractive purchase costs are the strongest argument in favor of hybrid vehicles for 63.5% of respondents. 8 of 10 Japanese motorists (82.6%) even consider this the most important purchase criterion.
The environment is the second most-important factor for most Europeans. Except for a minority of respondents, Asians, Americans and British, in contrast, do not focus on this issue.
When asked about the most interesting type of hybrid drive, motorists cited the lower fuel consumption on hybrid vehicles as the decisive criterion. 37.9% would opt for a hybrid with lower fuel consumption and acceleration that is the same or better than conventional engines. More than half of all motorists assume that the purchase of a hybrid vehicle pays off after around three years.
Americans surprised me on this point: 53.9 percent of respondents assume the purchase would pay off after just two years. The results for the French were also interesting because 28.5 percent believed that the environmental and climate protection benefits of hybrid vehicles are more important than the reduced fuel costs.
—Dr. Neumann
The fast pace of development in lithium-ion battery technology is leading to increased interest in electric cars. Almost half of all motorists (45.8%) could “definitely,†“very likely†or “somewhat likely†envision buying a car designed for urban traffic that runs exclusively on battery power and produces no emissions at all.
The Swiss, Austrians and Germans all had average findings on this issue. The Chinese motorists were very positive on this approach. Three-quarters—73.4%—have a very positive impression of this type of alternative drive, due presumably in part to its potential to reduce increasingly severe air pollution in their cities.
Continental will separately publish detailed, country-specific information in the foreseeable future and will provide the data to its customers who express interest.
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