STUDY: 88% of Americans believe hybrid leadership is crucial to U.S. - Do you? [w/POLL]
We Americans want hybrid leadership. We want to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Trouble is, most of us aren't willing to pay for it. Johnson Controls surveyed 2309 adults on all matters hybrid, and it found that 84% of Americans believe the government should support the advancement of hybrid technology and fully 88% believe hybrid leadership is crucial to America's future. But the devil is in the details, and few things bring out the worst in people more than money.
The survey asked whether car buyers would expect to pay more, less, or about the same amount as a comparable gasoline-powered vehicle. 23% of the adults surveyed said they were willing to pay more for a hybrid, while 35% would only purchase a car with battery assistance if it cost the same as a comparable non-hybrid. 33% actually think they should pay less for a hybrid than a conventional vehicle. And the other 11%? They wouldn't purchase a hybrid at any price. Click through to the jump for more on the study, the official press release, and the chance to participate in our poll.
[Source: Johnson Controls]
Beyond price issues, survey-takers were also concerned with size and performance. 49% are hesitant to purchase a vehicle at the expense of power and functionality. 47% of those surveyed feel that a lack of hybrid understanding prevents additional sales, and 59% don't understand the difference between various kinds of hybrids.
While most Americans appear to have limited hybrid knowledge and even less desire to pay for the technology, we're at least practical. While 90% of survey respondents are open to a hybrid purchase, 80% say that the cost of hybrids prevents them from buying one. At least automakers know that if they could only create a big, cheap hybrid with plenty of power that costs less than a Chevrolet Aveo, they'll have a hit on their hands.
PRESS RELEASE:
Nine out of 10 consumers open to purchasing hybrid as next vehicle
MILWAUKEE, May 12 /PRNewswire/ -- A new Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI) survey, conducted by Harris Interactive(R), reveals that more than four in five U.S. adults believe the United States must become a leader in hybrid vehicles (88%), and that the government should support the advancement of battery technology in this country (84%).
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081030/AQTH055ALOGO)
Johnson Controls commissioned the survey, "Powering the United States Hybrid Vehicle Industry," to understand consumer sentiment regarding hybrid vehicles and to gain insight into the challenges and opportunities for broad market acceptance in the United States. The online survey of more than 2,000 U.S. adults, conducted in March 2009, finds that the biggest reasons why U.S. adults think it is important that America become a leader in hybrid technology are to reduce the nation's reliance on foreign oil (81%), create jobs (67%), and reduce the U.S. impact on the environment (64%).
In fact, 90 percent of U.S. adults are open to choosing a hybrid if they were in the market for a new vehicle. However, they also perceive major obstacles to such a purchase today, most notably cost concerns: Four in five adults (80%) think financial barriers such as purchase price and/or insufficient cost savings prevent people from buying a hybrid car. At the same time, most see incentives and tax credits as an effective way to encourage consumers to purchase hybrid cars (84%). Among adults who do not already own a hybrid, more than one in three (35%) would buy a comparable hybrid vehicle as long as it was priced the same as the gasoline-powered equivalent, and more than one in five (23%) would be willing to pay more. However, one-third would expect to pay less.
"The survey makes one message abundantly clear: despite recognizing the importance of hybrid technology and the role of government support, consumers need costs to come down for the hybrid industry to thrive," said Kim Metcalf-Kupres, Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing for Johnson Controls. "The survey also suggests a need for consumer education, because most people admit they don't really grasp how hybrids work or understand the differences between the types of hybrid applications that are available," she added.
In addition to cost barriers, many consumers may also think hybrid vehicle performance should be equivalent or better than that of a comparable gasoline-powered vehicle. When asked what might prevent people from buying a hybrid car, 49 percent of adults cite reluctance to sacrifice features such as size and horsepower, and 42 percent express concerns that hybrids might mean inferior performance, lack of speed, or a poor driving experience. Further, nearly half (47%) believe lack of understanding about hybrids in general prevents people from buying them, and an even greater number (59%) have no idea what the distinctions are between different types of hybrids.
"That U.S. consumers are open to the idea of purchasing a hybrid bodes well for the development of a U.S. hybrid industry," said Alex Molinaroli, President, Power Solutions, for Johnson Controls. "However, it's evident that success in building the industry will depend on making it easier for consumers to buy hybrids. We're doing good things in the United States to stimulate the industry, but in the long run, it will be broad market acceptance and scale that makes it sustainable."
Survey Methodology
The Johnson Controls survey, "Powering the U.S. Hybrid Vehicle Industry," was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive between March 9 and March 11, 2009 among 2,309 adults ages 18 and older, of whom, 35 (2%) already own a hybrid car. Results were weighted as needed to reflect the composition of the U.S. population of adults ages 18+ using targets for region, age within gender, education, household income, race/ethnicity, and propensity to be online. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For further details, please contact Rebecca Fitzgerald, Johnson Controls, at Rebecca.K.Fitzgerald@jci.com.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 7)
Matt 12:36PM (5/13/2009)
Hybrids are a fashion symbol. The HUGE cost just to buy one (starting at 28K for a Fusion!!?!) does not make the financial sense that a efficient gas automobile does.
Diesel is where it is at. Now, with diesel getting 30-35% better mileage, and in my neck of the woods, cheaper than gas, Diesel makes sense...and Ford and GM just shot themselves in the foot by cutting their small diesels.
Now if only our government would pull their head out and stop treating gas and diesel the same, we would get somewhere.
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Farris 12:50PM (5/13/2009)
Hear hear!
Obviously the 2309 people that were surveyed for this study were not auto enthusiasts. (Well, 88% of them weren't...)
Mehdi Cheddadi 12:55PM (5/13/2009)
I'm glad that the "It is not important" option in the poll has the majority.
Average people don't realize that turbo clean diesel gets around 50mpg to 70mpg without any hybrid crap and the models offering these engines are WAYYYY cheaper than hybrids. I'm talking Nissan Versa and Honda Fit price cheap.
The future is HYDROGEN or PURE ELECTRIC.
Hybrids are a fashion statement
Rob 1:12PM (5/13/2009)
I think smaller, lighter cars with a better use of materials is where it's at. Oh, and turbocharging small engines. Much better than a hybrid, more reliable, and less costly. I find hybrids to be a complex solution to a relatively simple answer.
The biggest challenge in my eyes are the ever increasing safety regulations. If it's legal to ride a motorcycle, why must my new car come with 8 airbags, reverse camera, and a roof that supports 5x it's own weight? (exag, but you get the point)
Jei 1:12PM (5/13/2009)
I disagree.
Further development of hybrid (gas-electric, diesel-electric) tech and clean diesel emission systems are crucial to the overall development of future vehicle powertrain systems. And naturally, the costs to own and operate these newer technologies will be more expensive b/c the basic consumer infrastructure to support these systems aren't fully developed.
GM, Ford, Fisker, Tesla have great ideas to "jazz-up" the exterior designs of these techo-wiz vehicles....and that will help to pull more consumers into buying them for efficiency and style. But because this tech is relatively new it's going to be bland. You will have to be patient...b/c a cheap and stylish hybrid is a few years away.
Also, I think in most areas, diesel prices are still higher than petrol rates or nearly similar in price. Because of the refining process for both diesel and gas, I would think that if demand increased heavily for diesel, that would coincide with a similar decreased demand for petrol. In effect, diesel prices would rise much higher than petrol which wouldn't necessarily decrease due to a lack of demand.
2004m3driver 1:16PM (5/13/2009)
I don't believe in Diesel. I would rather see efficient rail systems and clean efficient energy alternatives to power electric vehicles. I would miss the loud roar of combustion engines for sure, but to make a dramatic difference there needs to be dramatic changes. Maybe diesel and hybrids could be used to fill in the gap until we have a better energy infrastructure and battery tech, but until then we are just prolonging it.
davido 1:33PM (5/13/2009)
@Matt and others,
"The HUGE cost just to buy one (starting at 28K for a Fusion!!?!) does not make the financial sense that a efficient gas automobile does."
The New Honda Insight, compact car, will cost 20K. Toyota is drooping the price of the new base Prius to $21,500 and it's a midsize car. Both are a lot less than 28K for a Fusion.
"Diesel is where it is at. Now, with diesel getting 30-35% better mileage, and in my neck of the woods, cheaper than gas, Diesel makes sense.."
Diesels also cost more than gas engine cars. The price difference between a standard Jetta and the Jetta TDI is $4700
So tell me again why the diesel is a better bargain ON PRICE, than a hybrid.
Nightcrawler 1:38PM (5/13/2009)
Taking your $28K for a hybrid Fusion, that's what, maybe $6000 more than a conventional Fusion similarly equipped I'd speculate? But at the moment you get a $1700 tax credit for buying one, reducing the cost difference to $4300
A hybrid Fusion averages 39 mpg, so over a 150,000 mile lifetime it would use 3846 gallons of gas. A conventional 2010 4 cyl. Fusion averages 28 mpg so would use 5357 gallons in 150,000 miles.
That's 1511 gallons different. So if gas averaged more than about $3 a gallon over the life of the car, which is certainly plausible, then you'd actually save money buying the hybrid. That assumes everything else, such as maintenance, costs the same between the two cars which may not be the case though.
Heck, I'm not even sure $6000 difference between a hybrid Fusion and a similarly equipped 4 cyl. Fusion is even in the ballpark. But in rough numbers theory it could work out if gas gets expensive over the next decade.
wako 1:44PM (5/13/2009)
do you not know why they are researching it? they are researching it so that it becomes more efficient and cheaper to produce. The first few hybrids that Honda and Toyota spat out was not cheap either. Look at them now? Honda's Insight that is coming out will be 21k and the new Prius is suppose to be around 24-25k. The price has been dropping for these hybrids, simply because the japanese are leaps and bounds ahead of the US automaker in the hybrid technology. More R&D going into hybrids means the cheaper they are.
I support the further development of Hybrid technology, specifically the battery which is the integral part of Hybrid and eV technology. However I do not believe it is a "crucial" technology we should be researching in. Alternative fuel is a much more important technology that should be invested in.
PJ 1:54PM (5/13/2009)
Part of the appeal for early hybrid adopters has been the "green" and high-tech image, certainly, but the folks who dismiss them as "fashion statements" are thinking awfully short-term (unless they think we'll all be driving around with ICEs for another century). Hybrids are the next few decades' stepping stone between ICE and pure electric, and the companies with more experience making hybrid-electric vehicles safe, reliable, and affordable are going to have a *much* easier time surviving the jump to full electric.
People who get noisy about how much they hate dirty-hippie hybrids are also being a bit concerned with image, if you ask me, and even if you're opposed to hybrid tech politically/ideologically, I'd rather the U.S. invest in it now than send yet another area of technical expertise overseas in the coming decades.
AutoDesigner 6:52PM (5/17/2009)
This survey has concluded my own survey: 88% of American's are stupid. Fact.
hahaFACE 3:43PM (5/13/2009)
I couldn't agree more. For years, long before the prius, there have been vehicles (VW TDI comes to mind) that got over 50MPG. The technology isn't almost here, like with hybrids (and the batteries they really need), and it isn't a pipe dream like with hydrogen (fuel cells). Small, turbo-charged diesel engines are produced in abundance nearly everywhere in Europe.
Believe me, the private sector is doing a fine job on their own racing to produce next generation batteries. I've worked in the industry. We don't need the goverment throwing our tax dollars at this.
Tool 4:11PM (5/13/2009)
I do think that hybrid leadership is crucial to the U.S.
The D3 have been so busy just surviving in a constant series of restructurings over the past decade that they haven't been able to lead, or in some cases, had a mindset that prevented them from being a leader.
Hopefully once GM restructures it can be a leader in alternative technology. Ford may already be leap-frogging Toyota, at least in a practical application (in the Fusion) that is yielding 41 MPG in a mid-size sedan.
XGM 6:50PM (5/13/2009)
Totally agree, diesel near where I am (in Canada) is cheaper by 5-10 cents/liter depending where you go. Plus the fact that they are very clean compared to the old ones.
On a side note, where do they pull out those numbers ? According to the poll now its the complete opposite of what they say, and somehow I feel like these results are much more accurate too.
Fatima 2:45PM (5/14/2009)
More like 20k..for new insight
Jrejre 12:36PM (5/13/2009)
You know there's more to it than just the price, and I'm not sure these people understand that. I'd be willing to pay more for a hybrid, but the gas savings have to offset the price increase. More importantly, the car can't look like a friggin dustbuster and it has to be fun to drive. You can sell these cars for thousands less than regular cars if you want to, but nothing's going to make me buy a prius.
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Luis 12:55PM (5/13/2009)
Most people aren't enthusiasts. What we seem to forget is most people just need/want a car to go from A to B.
Clay Garland 1:21PM (5/13/2009)
The only thing that makes someone buy a prius is narcissism.
JZeke 2:02PM (5/13/2009)
PJ nailed it.
We can't think short term, and understanding hybrid technologies is the stepping stone to the future. Look at all the expense and challenge of making the Volt series-hybrid come to market.
Whats crucial is that companies don't try to ape Toyota or Honda, but chase GM and Fisker with their series (vers parallel) hybrids. No one can really predict whats going to power cars in 100 years. Fuel Cells? Batteries? Mr. Fusion? But one thing is certain, its going to be electric motors driving the wheels. Developing hybrids today is the segue into electricaly-driven vehicles tomorrow.
zamafir 12:37PM (5/13/2009)
Leader? seriously? aside from the fusion what else are we currently, in production, leading in in terms of hybrids? Yes, I get that America is the largest consumer of hybrids (i have two), but hybrid leadership as crucial? Not so much. It shows how well the marketing of hybrids has paid off.
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