A new study shows that when consumers
understand what plug-in hybrids are, they
want them. The vehicles, which have large
onboard batteries, can be recharged
overnight by plugging them in, storing
enough electricity to power daily commutes.
For longer distances, a gasoline engine
kicks in, assisting the electric motor and
recharging the battery. The major automakers
do not yet offer plug-in hybrids, but
several are developing them. For those
consumers who can't wait, a handful of
companies offer conversion kits for
conventional hybrids.
Of the more than
3,000 consumers asked if they would consider
buying a "grid-connected hybrid," the term
used for plug-in hybrids in the survey, only
24 percent said that they would, according
to the survey by
Synovate Motoresearch. But when they
were told what such a car could do, that
figure nearly tripled, to 64 percent. That's
well above the percentage of people who
would consider buying an ordinary hybrid,
like the Toyota Prius, which doesn't have
extended battery-powered range. Scott
Miller, the CEO of Synovate Motoresearch,
presented the survey's results this week at
the Advanced Automotive Battery Conference
in Long Beach, CA.
The results suggest that consumers like
the idea of the plug-in hybrid--but that so
far, car companies are doing a lousy job of
getting the word out. That's not the case
with flex-fuel vehicles, though. These cars,
which can burn either gasoline or a mixture
of 85 percent ethanol, scored high on the
desirability charts--that is, until
consumers were told more about them.
Flex-fuel vehicles have been the subject of
heavy promotion by automakers. But the
marketing campaigns have fallen short of
providing all the details: consumers thought
that flex-fuel improved fuel economy, Miller
said. Actually, the opposite is true.
Ethanol contains much less energy than
gasoline does, so miles per gallon will be
significantly lower, as will range on a tank
of gas. When consumers were told this, the
percentage of people who would consider
buying the cars dropped from 52 to 33
percent.
It remains to be seen if the desirability
of plug-ins is enough to overcome their
steep price tag. They could cost thousands
of dollars more than a conventional hybrid,
which already comes at a premium. Still,
consumers are willing to shell out thousands
of dollars more for SUVs than for minivans
because of their perceived advantages. So if
the word gets out and the cars get built,
plug-ins might just be the next big thing.