Friday, June 18, 2010

Survey: High Demand, Maybe, For Electric Cars

A new survey released today from Ernst & Young finds that over 25% of drivers across US, Europe, China and Japan would likely consider purchasing either a plug-in hybrid or electric vehicle, when they are available on the market. The survey, conducted by Ernst & Young's Global Automotive Center, suggested that the interest in the vehicles could result in "more than enough demand" to sell out the estimated 2010 and 2011 production runs of those vehicles. The survey indicated that 7% of respondents would "definitely consider" buying a PHEV or EV. Interestingly enough, the country most interested in electric vehicles was China, where the survey found 60% of respondents would "most likely or definitely" consider purchasing vehicles, and only 4 % would "never consider" the purchase of those vehicles. That contrasts with the United States, where 17% of drivers said they would "never" consider purchasing a PHEV or EV, and 70% said they would be "unlikely to purchase" those until they are well-established in the market. The survey said that it found that 7 percent of drivers, across all markets, would "definitely consider" a plug-in hybrid or electric vehicle.

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