CHICAGO, May 4 /PRNewswire/ -- With the Chevy Volt and
Nissan Leaf set to hit dealer lots, 40 percent of consumers still
feel they don't know enough about the technology to consider an
electric vehicle for their next purchase. While the bulk of
consumers are still unsure of the technology, those who said they
would consider an electric vehicle (36 percent) for their next car
purchase outweighed those who said they would not (24 percent).
"Electric cars still face many hurdles in the minds of consumers
who have range anxiety," said Cars.com Editor and Chief,
Patrick Olsen. "When asked for
reasons they would not purchase an electric car, 54 percent said
they feared they would run out of electricity while out on the
road, while 43 percent said they drive distances greater than
electric technology will currently allow."
The cost, infrastructure and time needed to charge an electric
vehicle are also concerns for many consumers. 36 percent said they
don't have or don't want to pay for an electric outlet in their
garage for charging an electric vehicle. They also have high
expectations on an acceptable amount of time for a vehicle to fully
recharge, with 41% of consumers indicating it should take less than
2 hours. While there was a wide discrepancy among consumers when it
comes to the amount of miles per charge that was considered
acceptable, roughly a quarter of all consumers said they would
expect more than the 400 miles per charge.
Age and gender play a role in whether or not a consumer would
consider an electric car. Men are almost twice as likely as
women to consider the new technology and 60 percent of consumers
age 18-24 said they would consider an electric car, while only 25
percent of consumers age 45 to 54 said they would consider one.
Survey respondents were also asked for their thoughts on clean
diesel technology. 54 percent of consumers said they don't know
enough about clean diesel to consider it for their next car
purchase. Cost of diesel fuel was the primary deterrent to
consideration, with 59% citing the expense of fuel as a reason not
to buy.
"It's interesting to note that more consumers say they have
heard of electric cars than have heard of clean diesel cars, which
have been around much longer," said Olsen. "Despite a growing
number of eco-conscious consumers and interest in saving money at
the pump, both of these alternatives have a ways to go to gain mass
consumer awareness, appeal and acceptance. That said, we are
thrilled to see more options being developed."
This survey was conducted online by Impulse Research on behalf
of Cars.com with a random sample of 1030 men and women, 18 and
older. The sample has been carefully selected to closely match US
population demographics and the respondents are representative of
American men and women 18 and older. The overall sampling error
rate for this survey is +/-3 percent at the 95 percent level of
confidence
About Cars.com
Cars.com is the leading destination for online car shoppers,
offering credible, easy-to-understand information from consumers
and experts to help buyers formulate opinions on what to buy, where
to buy and how much to pay for a car. With comprehensive
pricing information, side-by-side comparison tools, photo
galleries, videos, unbiased editorial content and a large selection
of new- and used-car inventory, Cars.com puts millions of car
buyers in control of their shopping process with the information
they need to make confident buying decisions.
Launched in June 1998, Cars.com is
a division of Classified Ventures, LLC, which is owned by leading
media companies, including Belo (NYSE: BLC), Gannett Co., Inc.
(NYSE: GCI), The McClatchy Company (NYSE: MNI), Tribune Company and
The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO).
SOURCE Cars.com