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Car design plays a part too. Back in 2011, a pair of economists got quite a lot of headlines with a paper, “Conspicuous Conservation: The Prius Effect and WTP [Willingness to Pay] for Environmental Bona Fides.” Steve and Alison Sexton argued that people bought Priuses over hybrid versions of conventional cars because the car's distinctive design signals their commitment to the environment to the world around them. But according to Fletcher, consumers have been telling GM just the opposite.
"When we launched the first-generation Volt we got a lot of feedback we weren't expecting," she told us. "Comments like 'we like this car, it doesn't look like a science project.' That message carried forward when we designed the second-generation Volt. We made it one of our priorities to make the car more mainstream-looking." This was also borne out by a recent poll AutoTrader conducted on their website, which found a majority of those who replied wanted EVs or hybrids to look more like conventional cars, not less.
I didn't buy a Prius 11 years ago for that reason: I bought it to use less gas. I didn't buy the Lexus HS250h (hybrid) after that for that reason, either, I bought it because it looked nice, I wanted a Lexus, and I wanted to use less gas (not necessarily in that order). I bought a Tesla because it was the next step, all EV, a super car, and I really like that it looks very cool.
I may not be the typical Prius buyer...
I didn't buy a Prius 11 years ago for that reason: I bought it to use less gas. I didn't buy the Lexus HS250h (hybrid) after that for that reason, either, I bought it because it looked nice, I wanted a Lexus, and I wanted to use less gas (not necessarily in that order). I bought a Tesla because it was the next step, all EV, a super car, and I really like that it looks very cool.
I may not be the typical Prius buyer...
I didn't buy a Prius 11 years ago for that reason: I bought it to use less gas. I didn't buy the Lexus HS250h (hybrid) after that for that reason, either, I bought it because it looked nice, I wanted a Lexus, and I wanted to use less gas (not necessarily in that order). I bought a Tesla because it was the next step, all EV, a super car, and I really like that it looks very cool.
I may not be the typical Prius buyer...
How people shop for cars and what goes on in their heads is probably one of the most researched fields in marketing. No one spends as much on just the design as the car industry.
I think the main factors why EVs haven't taken off more is because people wrongly believe they need to find charging stations and think there are not enough. It's the old ICE car thinking you need to go to a station to fill up.
And the limited range. 80 miles is perfectly fine for almost all driving, but it still feels too little in people's minds.
They try hard, but I remain skeptical of just how insightful a lot of that market research really is. In an ideal world we could ask people what they want and then build it. However, when you ask people what they want, the vast majority of them will say they want what they're already familiar with, only more-and-better please!
when you ask people what they want, the vast majority of them will say they want what they're already familiar with, only more-and-better please! .
For me it's three reasons: Lack of range, cost, and attributes (or lack thereof). That's why I'm really excited and interested in the Model 3. It will be within the realm of affordability, will have a practical, usable, worry-free range, and (hopefully) will be good-looking and practical (interior/cargo space).
It the infamous words of Bugs Bunny.... "Bulls ear Catnip".
Folks are not going to buy a car that they have to "fill up" every day or worse, every destination (Leaf - 40 mile best).
Nor are people going to pay a premium for a car unless they get something in return. Hybrid owners buy for at least one of these reasons. (1) they can get pay back on that extra the spend (2) they want to contribute to "save the environment".
Lastly until there are enough charging stations to allow folks to fill up when and where they want/need... a pure electric car will be the outlier. Add to that, folks are not going to buy in until that charge takes a reasonable amount of time. Most of the American consumers are not going to accept a 20 minute stop every 200 miles or throttling down to 60 MPH, making the 300 mile/4.5 hour trip a 5.5 hour trip.
My Ford Fusion Hybrid saves me almost 5 cents a mile compared to the Fusion ICE and has long since paid for the premium I paid to buy the Hybrid version. If I can get 400,000 miles out of the car, it will come close to paying for itself. The 20 solar panels I have on the roof have a 4 year pay back. 35% to 55% of my electricity are furnished by these.
Its all about the Benjamins to me
There are a lot of people who will pay a premium for saving money (hence the Prius being super popular). While most people aren't that bright and will stick to inferior technology as long as possible, they're going to look mighty silly when people can travel pennies per mile in exchange for taking a healthy 20m break every 200 miles.
......
I still believe there will be a market for low-range but very low cost BEVs. Services like car2go are extremely popular, not to mention all the people who spend a lot of time on public transit. A low-cost, low-range BEV in several years should very easily undercut gas cars for upfront costs and still maintain the half to a fourth of the ongoing ownership costs bringing it more in-line with public transit costs. I know that when I have a model 3, I'll still want a super-cheap car like a smart ED to drive around for city trips.
All valid points -- for us early adopters. For the general public, I don't agree. If the general public "did the math" regarding cost per mile, anyone with a mid/small sedan would have bought a Volt.
When charging takes 10 minutes or less and distance per charge increases and charge locations are every 50 miles or less and price is less than $40K.... than BEVs will be more palatable to the general public.