A recent study published by TNS Infratest reveals cultural chasms related to hybrid, plug-in and electrical vehicles. The market research firm contacted 1,000 motorists each from the United States, Germany, China, France, England, Japan, Austria and Switzerland regarding hybrid vehicles. The broad brushstrokes of this study show that 36% of all participants are interested in buying a hybrid vehicle and 45% have changed driving behaviors based on rising fuel costs.
TNS Infratest delved further than other research companies into the psychology behind consumer reluctance about hybrid vehicles. The survey revealed that 63.5% of all participants found purchase prices more important than environmental and social factors when thinking about hybrid vehicles. There were 58% of TNS Infratest respondents who assumed that purchase prices were higher for hybrids ranging from Americans ($4,425) to France ($7,348). The inclusion of a hypothetical government incentive for hybrid purchases drove up support for cleaner vehicles to 64.2% with Germans, Austrian and British pushing above 67%.
The best part of the TNS Infratest survey was the peek behind geographical differences in opinion about the next generation of vehicles. There was a broad spectrum of knowledge about hybrid drives ranging from the British (3.9%) and Americans (6.6%) to the Japanese (46.9%). This spectrum became narrower when surveyors inquired about the level of knowledge about electric drives with 81% of Chinese respondents possessing little knowledge of this technology.
Readers interested in cleaner and more fuel-efficient vehicles will have mixed feelings about TNS Infratest’s report. There was an even split among respondents when asked if they would spend more money to purchase a new hybrid. The market researchers found that positive respondents were willing to spend an additional $4,000 on average to acquire a cleaner vehicle.
The issues of good infrastructure and reliable public transportation were muddled by consumer responses around the world. TNS Infratest found that British (60%), American (58%) and Chinese (48%) respondents were not changing their habits based on fuel prices. These responses recognize the world’s dependence on a single fuel source and the upheaval that would come with the changing of the guard in the auto industry. The aforementioned questions about hybrid and all-electric drive knowledge demonstrate that there is a long way to go before gas guzzlers are replaced with cleaner vehicles. Government agencies, non-profits and consumers need to spread the word about hybrid vehicles before changes in public attitude are realized.
