Consumer EV awareness could be a ways off

November 22, 2013 | By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

Alternative fuel vehicles, particularly battery electric vehicles (BEV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), are a small but fast-growing segment of the automotive market. Since 2010, when these vehicles first reached the market, sales of BEVs and PHEVs have grown at a significant pace, with new manufacturers bringing models to market and existing manufacturers reducing prices.

Credit: Julian Gomez/Wikimedia Commons

Favorability ratings for alternative fuel vehicles remain high, with all three types of vehicles (hybrid, electric, and natural gas) above 50 percent, according to a new consumer survey from Navigant Research. Consumer awareness of specific models, however, is still relatively low. Less than one-third are familiar with the Nissan Leaf, Tesla Model S, Ford's C-Max Energi and BMW's i3; 44 percent are familiar with the Chevry Volt.

Favorability (very favorable or favorable) is highest for hybrid vehicles at 67 percent, followed by EVs at 61 percent and natural gas vehicles (NGV) at 56 percent. Although not surprising, those looking at BEVs or PHEVs for their next vehicle are most often seeking high fuel economy. Potential PHEV buyers, however, also want high performance vehicles.

"Two-thirds of consumers surveyed stated that they believe EVs have unique features that stand out from their gasoline counterparts, and 6 out of 10 agreed that EVs are much less expensive to own in the long run than gasoline cars," said Dave Hurst, principal research analyst with Navigant Research. "While those are encouraging numbers, it's clear that automakers still have a long way to go in marketing these vehicles to the wider car-buying public."

For more:
- see the survey results

http://www.fierceenergy.com/story/consumer-ev-awareness-could-be-ways/2013-11-22