Poll: 45% of Americans at least somewhat likely to buy alt-fuel vehicle by 2021
Despite an uptick in gas prices in 2011, Americans are no more enthusiastic than they were in 2010 about buying a vehicle that runs on some sort of alternative fuel, according to Rasmussen Reports’ latest national telephone survey.
The survey says that 45 percent of Americans think it’s at least “somewhat likely” they will purchase an alt-fuel vehicle within the next ten years. That sounds promising until you consider that 48 percent say they are “not likely” to do so. The demand for pure electric vehicles remains low, with just 27 percent of Americans saying it’s at least “somewhat likely” they’d purchase a battery-powered auto during the next decade.
A breaking down of the survey results shows that Americans under age 30 are more likely than their elders to at least consider buying an alternative fuel vehicle in the next 10 years and that wealthier individuals are more apt to purchase a vehicle that doesn’t rely solely on gasoline. No surprise there.
The survey of 1,000 American was conducted on June 9 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is three percentage points with a claimed 95 percent level of confidence.
[Source: Rasmussen Reports]
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Despite the big jump in gas prices in recent months, Americans are no more enthusiastic than they were a year ago about buying a car that runs on alternative fuel.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 45% of American Adults think it is at least somewhat likely they will purchase a car that runs on something other than gasoline in the next 10 years. Forty-eight percent (48%) say they are not likely to do so. These findings include 21% who are Very Likely to purchase an alternative fuel car during the next decade and 18% who are Not At All Likely to do so. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Sentiments have changed little from a year ago when 48% said they were likely buy this type of car and 45% said it was unlikely.
Twenty-seven percent (27%) of Americans plan to buy or lease a car in the next 12 months, a finding that’s held steady for well over a year. Of that group, 44% plan to buy a new car, while 47% will opt for a used car.
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The survey of 1,000 Adults nationwide was conducted on June 9-10, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Adults under age 30 are more likely than their elders to consider buying an alternative fuel vehicle during the next 10 years. Those with higher incomes are more likely to consider purchasing a non-gasoline car than those who earn less.
The demand for an all-electric vehicle remains low. In January, just 27% of Adults said it was at least somewhat likely they’d purchase a car that runs on electricity only during the next decade.
Separate polling shows that high gas prices have had a significant impact on the daily lives of a plurality of Americans and that they are driving less now than they were a year ago. Most adults (72%) say it’s at least somewhat likely that the price of gas will rise above $5 a gallon by July 1.
Voters have consistently said for years that it is more important for the United States to develop alternative energy sources than to reduce the amount of energy currently being consumed.
Ford, the only Big Three automaker that didn’t take a government bailout, is still the favorite among Americans, although opinions of General Motors have improved. Both GM and Chrysler have repaid sizable portions of their federal government bailouts, but fewer than half of Americans now believe either automaker will fully repay taxpayers for the money they received.
Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.
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