Car Buyers Want Green Cars To Be Better In Every Way
Fuel efficiency has increasingly become an important factor over the past few years when it comes to buying a new car. But it isn’t the only factor that matters as evidenced by a 7.5% decline in hybrid car sales in 2009 compared to 2008 when summer gas prices soared to $4/gallon. According to a new report by Accenture, American consumers are demanding more from their green cars than just good gas mileage; they want their green cars to wow them with electronics while delivering a superior driving experience.
Are you listening Detroit?
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The study showed that six out of ten people would buy a hybrid only if it was superior to a non-hybrid in every way. The big trend these days seems to be fitting cars with computers and entertainment devices like Ford’s Sync system. It could explain why Ford’s hybrid sales were up almost 150% in December versus 2008.
Detroit has complained for years that they can’t make money on small cars, and the American consumer wants big cars and SUVs… and there is some truth to that. But as the 2011 Mustang V6 proves, you can have power, style, and fuel efficiency in the same car. Also, items like the Sync add to Ford’s bottom line. The Volt seems to embrace this philosophy as well, integrating a plug-in electric drive train with computer and nav systems inside. Even the Prius, with its hard-boiled egg looks, has an optional touch-screen nav system, 6-disc CD changer, etc. etc., and it is an absolute sales success.
Long story short; green cars need to keep getting better and prove themselves better in every way. On the bright side, 42% of respondents say they are likely to buy a hybrid or electric car in the next two years. That group would also include me.
Source: BusinessWire | Image: GM
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March 8th, 2010 at 9:46 pm
Economics is very powerful in the final determination. What is the payback mileage for the excess cost. What is the extra cost of the electronic controls and the maintenance that they require.
What is the functionality trade-off required? i.e. Can I still tow my boat? or travel trailer?
March 9th, 2010 at 12:23 pm
Hey Simon, keep your advertising out of the discussion.
March 9th, 2010 at 12:31 pm
Douglas (et. al.)
Simon got through our spam filter and my daily moderation. It happens sometimes. I’ve deleted his comment now. Sorry for the intrusion into the discussion.
March 9th, 2010 at 2:34 pm
ChuckL Says:
March 8th, 2010 at 9:46 pm
Economics is very powerful in the final determination. What is the payback mileage for the excess cost. What is the extra cost of the electronic controls and the maintenance that they require.
What is the functionality trade-off required? i.e. Can I still tow my boat? or travel trailer?
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The payback depends on gas prices – the cost of extracting oil is not going down and demand is still increasing worldwide. For me, it’s very close. But being able to reduce my emissions even when using coal powered electricity is enough for me and I won’t be buying another ICE vehicle.
When EV technology matures – it will be far ahead of ICE vehicles on reliability and maintenance.
I don’t think there will be any EV vehicles for towing applications immediately. I bet by 2020 there will be EV pickups that can handle towing boats with acceptable range though.
March 10th, 2010 at 5:30 pm
Of course green cars have to be better in every way – it is a lot more expensive! Under today’s economic conditions, it would seem like a wiser decision to buy an used car for cheap through professional negotiators such as Carsala than buying a green car unless the green car is better than the used car IN EVERY WAY