As consumers become more realistic about the fuel-efficiency capabilities of hybrid vehicles, the percentage of new-vehicle shoppers who are considering a hybrid has declined, according to recently released J.D. Power and Associates' 2007 Alternative Powertrain Study. Their study examines the percentage of consumers that are considering purchasing either hybrid or clean-diesel powertrains.
Now in its second year, the Alternative Powertrain Study examines the reasons why consumers consider or avoid alternative powertrain vehicles. The study includes the Automotive Environmental Index, which combines U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publicly available data related to fuel economy, air pollution and greenhouse gases for 2007 model-year vehicles and J.D. Power and Associates’ voice-of-the-customer data related to stated fuel economy. Voice-of-the-customer data—consumer data derived from other J.D. Power studies—is also used to help determine the relative importance of these environmental factors.
The study finds that 50% of new-vehicle shoppers are considering a hybrid—down from 57% in the 2006 study. While a general decline can be observed across all age groups, in particular, younger vehicle shoppers (16 to 25 years old), appear less interested in the powertrain technology, with 60% considering a hybrid in 2007, down from 73% in 2006. The average additional price potential hybrid buyers are willing to pay for this powertrain is $2,396, with the expectation of receiving an improvement of 18.5 miles per gallon (MPG) over a traditional vehicle of similar size.
“In the 2006 study, we found consumers often overestimated the fuel efficiency of hybrid-electric vehicles, and the decrease in consideration of hybrids in 2007 may be a result of their more realistic understanding of the actual fuel-economy capabilities,” said Mike Marshall, director of automotive emerging technologies at J.D. Power and Associates. “While hybrid sales are steadily increasing, they continue to face competition for market share against an increasing offering of other alternative powertrains and fuels options.”
The study also finds that consumer consideration for purchasing clean-diesel vehicles, which were newly introduced to the market in 2007, is at 23%. In 2006, only 12% of shoppers considered purchasing diesel vehicles. On average, fans of this powertrain are willing to pay an additional $1,491 for the clean-diesel option and expect an average additional fuel economy improvement of 15 mpg.
