Hybrid interest based more on money factors than environment
(Detroit) U.S. consumers are expressing interest in plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.
But that interest is based more on financial considerations than on environmental or any other social factor. So suggests a new survey that found vehicle shoppers were more apt to buy a plug-in if they felt the price was right and they would reap substantial fuel savings.
The poll - done by the University of Michigan - found that 46 percent of those surveyed would consider purchasing a hybrid that cost 25-hundred dollars ($2,500) more than a traditional vehicle and 30 percent might buy one that cost five thousand dollars more.
But just 14 percent said there was a chance they would buy a plug-in if it cost an additional 10 thousand dollars - even it they could save 75 percent in fuel costs. Overall, when given no price or fuel-saving estimates, less than half - 42 percent - said there was a chance they would buy a hybrid sometime in the future.
The survey gauged the opinions of more than 25-hundred (2,500) people nationwide age 18 and over between July and November 2008. The findings were released recently at quote "The Business of Plugging In: A Plug-In Electric Vehicle Conference" held in Detroit.
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RNS-10-26-09 1402CDT