Eco-friendly car sales could double
More Australians are considering an electric or hybrid vehicle than ever before.
A consumer poll carried out by market researcher Roy Morgan demonstrated that the number of people who are planning on buying a battery-powered or hybrid car has almost doubled.
More Australians considering alternative-power vehicles
In 2018, Roy Morgan pollers posed the question, "Would you buy an electric or hybrid vehicle for your next car?" In answer, 238,000 respondents said that they would go for an all-electric car. One year later, the same question elicited 438,000 positive responses. Electric vehicles, or EVs, are driven by one or several motors, drawing power from rechargeable battery packs.
Hybrid vehicles also experienced a surge in interest. 2018's survey saw 621,000 responders say they'd consider a hybrid equipped vehicle. In 2019, 1,174,000 responded in the affirmative. Roy Morgan said this demonstrated a rise in the popularity of greener vehicles and signified that we could be on the cusp of mainstream adoption.
Breaking down the numbers
Further sorting the responses, Roy Morgan was able to establish more detailed buyer intentions. According to the survey, 37,000 Australians aged over 14 stated that they would buy a brand new EV as their next mode of transport. This figure was actually less than the 45,000 in 2018 who said they would be buying a pure electric vehicle such a Tesla or an alternative electric model.
According to the study, 61,000 buyers would now entertain the idea of a second-hand electric car, despite a limited used electric car market. This number had increased dramatically since 2018, which saw 28,000 positive responses.
Australian's attitude towards the environment
Statisticians were able to form some conclusions about the electric car-buying public. Apparently, these Aussies recycled and would label themselves as environmentalists at a higher-than-average level. Researchers determined that they were also far more likely to spend time researching new technological advancements and donate to charity.
CEO of Roy Morgan Michele Levine indicated that their results should be of interest to vehicle manufacturers.
"Over the past 12 months, we have seen nearly a doubling in the number of Australians looking to purchase both electric and hybrid vehicles as their next car purchase. These increasing numbers send a clear signal to car manufacturers that Australians are interested in greener technologies," Levine wrote.
She also encouraged manufacturers to work on meeting the consumer's desire for more affordable, lower-cost electric vehicle models.
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Picture: Getty Images
