THE SURPRISING RESULTS of a TMR poll show that the impending release of electric cars into the Australian market may not meet the buyer resistance some may be expecting.
Of the 1009 respondents to the poll, 44 percent indicated that they would consider the purchase of an electric car if priced competitively.
Equally surprising, a further nine percent indicated a preparedness to pay a premium for an all-electric car because of the environmental benefits.
Drawn from a statistically relevant sample of readers, The Motor Report Poll results will be encouraging for Mitsubishi, Nissan and others planning all-electric vehicle releases. It will also likely be encouraging for infrastructure providers, Better Place Australia and AGL.
“While this may not necessarily translate into immediate sales success for companies soon to release all-electric cars into this market, the poll indicates a high level of awareness of electric vehicle technology, and that motorists are ‘warm’ to it as potential buyers,” TMR Director Tim O’Brien said.
“Because a car is such a significant purchase, car buyers tend to be cautious and even a little suspicious until a technology is proven. Toyota’s Prius and Honda’s Civic Hybrid have taken some years to gain traction in this market and to overcome early fears about battery life.
“Of course, with 21 percent of respondents to the poll indicating that they would “never purchase an electric car no matter what the price and driving range”, there is clearly a solid resistant block in the market.
“But we expected this percentage to be greater. It is comparatively small given the relatively scant details available about electric cars and the way they drive.
“The key for manufacturers will be in the pricing of the vehicles and the availability of charging infrastructure. If manufacturers can get that right, we may be sharing the roads with significant numbers of all-electric cars much earlier than we thought,” Mr O’Brien said.
“It would seem the market is ready.”
ABOUT THE POLL
Conducted over September/October by TMR, with a total of 1009 respondents.
Should the re-charging infrastructure be in place, what is your view about all-electric cars:
- I would consider buying an electric car if priced competitively with conventional cars; 44%
- I would never purchase an electric car no matter what the price and driving range. 21%
- I would choose a hybrid over an all-electric car; 14%
- I don’t know enough about their range and performance to have a view; 11%
- Because of the environmental benefits, I would be prepared to pay a premium for an electric car; 9%
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Wouldn’t touch one myself. Where’s the spirit?? Oh I guess the Tesla Roadster isn’t bad, but still…
Either way, I’m pretty sure my love for cars will fade a lot - if not entirely - when we reach the day that electric cars are the dominant force on the road.
get off it supermankie these things are the future mate. dont you like saving money? OR THE PLANET for that matter!
I’m on the fence. I agree with SuperMakie that electric cars pose a threat to the ’spirit’ of driving - the raw power of a series of contained explosions going on under the bonnet - but I agree with Maxmax that saving the planet - and our wallets - should be a priority… it IS the rational thing to do, after all.
While the “current” crop of electric cars are certainly not exciting I am sure that will change as the technology improves and manufacturers are able to incorporate more sporty designs.
Maybe there will be variants with bigger electric motors to put out more power for the sports models.
Interesting, but I remain a little sceptical. For Australians the driving range will be the key issue. There are also question marks that will need be addressed over the actual environmental benefit given that electric cars will be drawing on the grid for re-charging. There is no question that petrol-engined cars are wasteful, but fuel consumption and carbon outputs are dropping with each new model. Won’t there be a point where the environmental and economic case for electric cars is entirely diminished?
I agree that driving range will be the key. Once you can buy an electric car for the same price and with the same range as current cars, I’m sure you’ll find people and manufacturers will drop petrol cars like a stone. Don’t think it’ll happen for a while yet though.
As for ‘losing the spirit’, who can say? I don’t think it’ll be the case - given the amount of torque electric motors can put out they’ll probably be quite exciting! I’ll reserve my judgement until the day I drive one and I don’t think my love of cars will ever be diminished.
Rest assured, the Australian public would buy these vehicles. As long as they didn’t have to pay any more for them or they were cheaper than the current range of cars…. much the same way they view the safety equipment, Yep we all deserve the best but HEY! the manufacturers hould include it as standard!!!
What’s the braked towing capacity of an electric vehicle. ROFL
I wonder how long now until the environmental issues become so obvious that governments will be simply forced to kill the entire hydrocarbon based industry, and race to solar and nuclear energy with electric cars being the only option allowed? My guess, after stuffing around another 10 years, if will have to be be forced into law. Comments re ’spirit of driving’ and ‘braked towing capacity’ show how you people have not the faintest idea of the seriousness of the situation.
Seems no one knows enough about electirc vs petrol vs diesel life cost comparisons (taking all factors into account, including disposal). This makes answering from a financial perspective difficult.
The environmental benefits of electric cars still arent clear. Unless recharge power is developed from renewable sources it seems a 50/50 bet between electric and new breed of efficient petrol/diesel (eg blue motion polo) as to which has a bigger impact on the environment
Driving - unless people have driven a purely electirc car its impossible to answer. I know I prefer petrol over diesel from experience, no such luck with electric.
How did people answer this survey thoughtfully with the limited information available?
NB Comments on braked towing capacity are relevant - if electric vehicles/engines cant pull a decent load how are we ever going to replace diesel truck engines? I would assume with the miles and fuel usage that trucks are some of our worst polluters.
Spirt of driving is also relevant . If it wasn’t everyone in the world would drive a corolla or similar. People are irrational (and have a right to be so) and buy cars based purely on this factor - if electric cant match it a lot of people wont be interested, providing a continuing market for petrol/diesel cars.
To be fair, that headline should actually say “TMR Poll Shows 440 TMR Readers Ready To Embrace Electric Cars”
Any poll is simply a sample. There is nothing interposed or ‘coloured’ in our poll results; they are what they are - responses from our large and diverse readership (well over 20,000 a day) from which broader inferences (of trends, conclusions) may be drawn.
Is it your suggestion that the results are not representative? With a shade over 1000 unique respondents to the poll (pollsters ‘call’ election results on smaller samples) and the greater part of our readership coming in on searches for news or car reviews - so hence “in the market” - it is not unreasonable to consider the results both indicative and representative.
Any poll can be wrong… you just might happen to hit a thousand people who have a particular axe to grind. But the larger the sample, the more reliable the result as an indication of the broader position the poll is designed to test.
Tim
Get over it people - just as the reciprocating internal combustion engine is reaching the peak of its sophistication and performance, it is about to become completely irrelevant to the future of human transportation. Its demise might take another decade or three, but the death warrant has already been signed.
Spirit? Give me the quiet whine and max torque at zero revs of an electric motor any day. Check out Ian Wright’s EV version of the Atom at http://www.wrightspeed.com and tell me that you wouldn’t want to drive one of these things! Check out the videos of this car blowing away a Ferrari 360 Spider and Porsche Carrera GT in drag races (0-60mph in 3.07sec, 0-100mph in 6.87sec, 0-100-0mph in 11.2sec, standing 1/4 mile 11.5 secs, equivalent energy consumption 175 mpg).
Braked towing capacity? Probably higher than a conventional vehicle, because of the combined braking power of the mechanical brakes and motor regen (electric motors can absorb as much power as they generate, even more in some cases).
Whole-of-life costs? EVs will be cost-neutral or cheaper than conventional vehicles - the reason is pretty simple - EVs are mechanically much simpler and cheaper to maintain, and the combined cost of renewable electricity and battery amortisation is already equal to or less than the current cost of petrol or diesel - ie it’s not waiting for carbon pricing or special government concessions etc
Driving experience? I drove the Mitsubishi i-MiEV earlier this year - it’s a no-contest - modern EVs are better to drive than conventional cars - quicker, smoother, quieter - once you’ve driven one you won’t want to go back.
Energy source? EVs will be recharged from renewable energy - there’s no problem meeting the progressive increase in demand within the Australian electricity system - EVs will place much less strain on the grid than the mass introduction of home aircon did in the 1990s and 2000s - the BetterPlace system will actually use EVs to improve the grid’s performance, by using the connected storage capacity of EVs.
Range - for vehicle owners with serious range requirements there’s no doubt that EVs with a gas-powered charging engine (like the Chevvy Volt that Holden will bring here in 2012) will be the go in Australia for the next decade or two. However, most vehicle trips in Australia are less than 100 km, and EVs already have ranges around 130-160 km (the Tesla S sedan will have a range around 240-480 km, depending on which battery pack is used). Given current rates of battery development, range will be a non-issue by 2020-2025.
For those who still think electric vehicles are for wimps, check out the Electric Hummer H3 E-REV (Extended-Range Electric Vehicle) at http://www.rasertech.com/media/videos/the-electric-h3.