Finance Associated Press, April 25 (Editor Bian Chun) Although U.S. gasoline prices have recently fallen after hitting a new high in early March, high oil prices are still affecting consumers' wallets and changing the way people think about buying electric vehicles.
The latest data Cargurus.com online automotive research site shows that high gasoline prices have a great boost to people's attitudes toward electric vehicles.
CarGurus conducted an online survey of 2,176 U.S. car owners to see what they think about electric vehicles. The survey was conducted in three waves: the first on February 28, when U.S. gasoline prices began to rise, the second on March 14, when oil prices climbed further, and the third on April 8, when oil prices had stabilized.
**According to the survey, 40% of respondents said they expect to have an electric car within the next 5 years, compared to 34% a year ago. In the longer term, 60 percent of respondents said they would own an electric car in the next 10 years, up from 40 percent a year ago.
Overall, the percentage of respondents who were "excited" about the development of the electric vehicle sector climbed to 51 percent from 45 percent a year ago. **
"Consumers know that electric vehicles are the trend of the future," said Madison Edwards, head of consumer insights at Cargurus.com. "But as gasoline prices rose in March and pulled back slightly in April, we saw expectations of electric vehicle ownership over the next 10 years start to rise again."
However, in-depth research into gasoline prices and eviction buying enthusiasm has yielded some unexpected results. A year ago, 56 percent of respondents said they would be "more likely to consider buying an electric car" if gasoline prices soared to $5 a gallon, compared with 71 percent if they rose to $6 a gallon.
Right now, only 27 percent of respondents say a $5/gallon gasoline price would make them more willing to consider buying an electric car, and only 47 percent said a $6/gallon gasoline price would make them more likely to consider buying an electric car.
"The possibility of more than $5 a gallon becomes more realistic when consumers see gasoline prices above $4 a gallon, which changes the way consumers think — 'If gasoline prices are $1 higher than they are now, am I going to buy an electric car now?'" Edwards said. ”
How are consumers coping with high gasoline prices?
In the case of high gasoline prices, consumers who own gasoline-powered cars are driving less. 60% of respondents said they are reducing their fuel consumption in response to higher prices – 81% of them only drive when necessary and turn to shopping online rather than going in-store to purchase in person.
From a consumer perspective, in addition to gasoline prices, automakers need to do a lot to convince buyers that buying an electric car is the right thing to do. Respondents said technological advances in range and charging speed (43 percent), more charging stations (43 percent), and cost parity between electric and gasoline-powered cars (40 percent) would be the strongest way to convince them to buy an electric car.
Tesla is the most favored
Tesla is still the king of the eviction car brands that consumers want to buy, but traditional automakers are catching up.
"When it comes to electric cars, Tesla is clearly the first choice for people, and in every study we've done... Tesla is at the top of the list, but its lead is shrinking. Edwards said. In fact, we see Toyota being praised as an early innovator in the hybrid space. ”
According to the survey, 45% of potential buyers of electric vehicles rank Tesla as their first choice, followed by Toyota (44%), Honda (40%) and Ford (31%).