| Nearly a third of new car buyers in California, the nation’s largest auto market, would purchase an electric vehicle (EV) if more of them were available and they were priced competitively with a gasoline vehicle according to a new survey.
Part of “The Current and Future Market for Electric Vehicles,” a survey of 934 California new car buyers, was conducted in July by the non-profit Green Car Institute and The Dohring Company automotive market research firm on behalf of the California Electric Transportation Coalition (CalETC). The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent.
The study results sharply contradict auto industry statements that there is little consumer demand for electric vehicles. “This is the study the auto industry didn’t want to see,” says David L. Modisette, executive director of CalETC.
“This study used the same research methodologies employed by the auto industry to identify markets for its gasoline vehicles. The results show there is a very strong consumer market for EVs in California, a demand automakers either don’t want to believe or want to go away,” Modisette says.
The study shows that the annual consumer market for EVs is between 12 and 18 percent of the new light-duty vehicle market in California. This equates to annual sales of approximately 151,200 to 226,800 units, a potential market some seven to 10 times larger than the estimated 22,000 vehicles required to be sold in 2003 under current California regulations.
Other key findings are that car buyers want to be able to buy EVs rather than lease them, and that EVs need to be tailored to consumer tastes in size, features and functionality.
When asked what body style they would prefer for their EV, those polled responded overwhelmingly (53 percent) in favor of four or five-passenger sedans that include the amenities found in gasoline vehicles. The finding isn’t surprising since the most popular gasoline cars in the state are four-door sedans like the Toyota Camry and Honda Civic. | 