Most consumers willing to pay for hybrid cars

If it seems like many people you know would like to own a hybrid car, J.D. Power and Associates has the data to back up your hunch.

The auto market research firm on Tuesday released results of a survey that found a very high interest in hybrid-electric vehicles--even after the substantial price premium was revealed.

The company performed surveys with consumers before and after telling them of an average $5,000 price difference between hybrids and non-hybrids.

The study found that 72 percent of consumers are "definitely/probably" interested in having hybrid-electric technology for their next vehicle.

In 2005, 58 percent of consumers responded yes to that same question.

After the average price difference was revealed, 46 percent of consumers were still interested in the 2008 survey.

"High consumer interest in hybrid-electric powertrain technology may be reflective of not only rising gas prices but also a heightened effort among consumers to be more environmentally conscious," Mike Marshall, director of automotive emerging technologies at J.D. Power and Associates, said in a statement.

That research dovetails with bets made by many people in the electric and plug-in hybrid car industry. Namely, that consumers are demanding a product that's not quite yet widespread.

The financial part of a decision to go hybrid is getting clearer as well. A financial analyst earlier this month presented information that showed that purchasing a hybrid-electric car has a lower cost of ownership than a gas-only car when gasoline prices are more than $3.18 a gallon.

Meanwhile, the J.D. Power and Associates study found that consumers are not interested in buying so-called clean diesel vehicles.

The researchers concluded that people still have negative associations with diesel from older diesel technologies that have unpleasant exhaust.

The study also queried people on what sort of new technology features they are looking for.

If price were no object, the survey found that people want blind-spot detection, backup assist, and navigation systems. After prices were revealed, consumers showed the highest increase in backup assists (68 percent), active cornering headlight systems (65 percent), and wireless connectivity systems (53 percent).

"Consumer interest is likely heightened by the fact that more states may prohibit the use of cell phones while driving. Wireless connectivity will potentially become a necessity rather than a luxury as time goes on," Marshall said in a statement.

Updated at 12:30 p.m. PT with more detail from survey on consumer interest in desired features.

[eBob1]

So, what is it about revealing the prices that cause the consumers to suddenly have wireless connectivity?

"After prices were revealed, consumers showed a 53 percent interest and wireless connectivity."

How did they know that the consumers did not already have wireless connectivity before the prices were revealed? Did J.D. Powers test them before revealing the prices?

[mlamonica]

I added a little bit more detail on the survey results. Hope that helps you out.

[bschmidt25]

The US public is pretty ignorant about the diesel technology that's out there right now. In Europe, over 60% of the cars on the road are diesel. They're clean, economical (50-60mpg), don't require specially designed transmissions, and don't drive much different than a normal gasoline engine. There's been a little too much hybrid hype for our own good. It'll be interesting to see what happens in a few years when hybrid owners have to start replacing and disposing of their old batteries. I suspect the enthusiasm will diminish...

[david__B]

*sigh*
I predict another late '70s early '80s bubble. This will all go away. It's just a bunch of the Media sucking up the BS put out by 2 groups trying to sway people their way.

Oil companies are doing what EVERY company on the planet does, using the "excuse of the day" that the dumb public will buy to justify charging more for a product that should be going DOWN in price due to advances in technology.

The second group are the so called "eccologists" that really don't have a clue about man's impact on nature beyond what they see when they drive down the road and see all the cars. Drop any one of them out of a plane in any wilderness in the US that has less than 20 people per thousand square miles and make them WALK out. They will think differently when they come out covered in prickers and all the "eco-system" has to throw at them.

Gas combustion engines aren't going anywhere, anymore then they did after the last Hysteria/government made "oil crissis". Gas has the highest energy store per volume of ANYTHING even remotely usable as a fuel for transportation. And we STILL don't have engines that even begin to extract all that energy. Improvements in Gas engines will be the way of the future, not all these not-ready-for-prime-time alternatives.

Seriously, does ANYONE believe that we've used up or are about to use up ALL the oil from the earth in JUST 60 YEARS? Someone tell me another natural resource we've done that with in that time? The earth is HUGE, we are just being dumb about this, and making people rich, rich and richer because of our ignorance.

[fokkwp]

Another survey question they should have asked:

"In instances where you've been asked in a survey if you are willing to spend $5,000, then later had the opportunity to actually spend the money, in how many cases have you actually spent the money?"

Also: there are a lot of absolutely useless hybrids out there. Hybrid does not equal Prius, in most cases.

As far as using up the oil, it's a matter of how fast we use it. Predictions are we could very well use it up in 60 years, but no-one knows. It's very difficult to estimate how much we may yet find, but it seems that the big finds are getting fewer while demand is rising very fast. If price stays high or gets higher oil may last a long time. Germany ran their war machine mostly on plant ethanol (which now we find to be quite environmentally destructive).

[barleyboffin]

Given that most drivers use the maximum power of their engines less than 1% of the time, I can't believe more people aren't buying hybrids. Some good stuff on the topic over on the BBC's website Bloom:

BBC Bloom
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bloom/flash.shtml?cc_start_screen=browse#/actions/hybridcar.shtml

[CleanBurning]

I believe that the Honda Civic GX has the lowest cost of ownership.

According to Popular Science (a leading source of science and technology news) the Honda Civic GX is ?the highest performing investment one could hope for.? Their conclusion was based on a long-term evaluation ?to test the viability of a Natural-Gas vehicle in daily driving? and to evaluate the home refueling station that fuels the Honda Civic GX overnight.

GX Cost: $27,500
(includes license, registration and DMV fees)

Tax Credit: -$4,000

Total Cost $23,500
Note: I am not sure the interest cost over 5 year period

Fuel: $7,475
(based on average 500 gge/yr X $2.99/gge)

Maintenance: $160
(oil change every 10,000 miles)

Insurance:$5,500
(five year total)

5Year Cost Analysis $36,635
(w/o interest)

With nearly zero emissions, The American Council for Energy-Efficient Economy called the GX the cleanest-burning internal-combustion vehicle on Earth! Such environmental benefits coupled with the low fuel costs-about $1.20-$1.40 per gallon made this GX the smart investment.