Are you still trying to decide between a new hybrid car or an all-electric vehicle? If so, then you might be in the minority of consumers. The results of a survey released today depict a bleak outcome for alternative fuel vehicles. The survey asked consumers what alternative fuel they preferred between gasoline-electric hybrids, compressed natural gas (CNG), hydrogen fuel cell (HFC), and electric vehicles (EV).
Not surprisingly, gas-powered vehicles are still preferred over all alternative fuels, and hybrids came in a close second. The shocker is that EVs came in dead last, and 40 percent of people thought EVs were the least preferable alternative-fuel choice. In recent years there have been a resurgence of electric vehicles. Tesla got the ball rolling with it’s Roadster, and it’s yet-to-be-released sedan the Tesla S. Nissan created the first mass produced EV the Nissan Leaf, and several other car makers are planning on following suit, including Ford with its all-electric Focus. It seems that car makers are jumping on the electric bandwagon before consumers are.
The survey goes on to outline the main concerns buyers have with alternative fuels, which mostly boil down to money versus convenience. The average user expressed that if they were going to spend an extra $1,000 on an alternative fuel vehicle, they would require at least one of the following: $300 saving in driving cost over 12,000 miles, a vehicle range increase of 17.5 miles, or a 7.8-minute decrease in total refueling time. Using this information, it’s not hard to see why hybrid vehicles are so popular: not only will the driving cost drop, but you also gain an increase in driving range.
That being said, it’s also easy to see why EVs are the least desirable; they have a greatly reduced driving range and currently do not have the refueling infrastructure needed to compete with gasoline or gasoline hybrids.
