http://ecomento.com/2015/05/18/electric-car-buyers-are-bargain-hunters-study/ Electric car buyers are bargain hunters: Study May 18, 2015 |
According to a study by TrueCar, electric car buyers are bargain hunters first and environmental activists second. They are also younger than average and wealthier, too. TrueCar looked most closely at the Ford Focus. For the conventional Focus, buyers are 46 years old on average and have a household income of $77,000 a year. But for Focus Electric buyers, the average age is 43 with a household income of $199,000. That’s according to TrueCar President John Krafcik. 82% of Focus Electric buyers said generous rebates and incentives were the main reason for their purchase. TrueCar says that proves wealthy people have a sharper eye for a bargain than ordinary people. “These are really affluent folks,” says Krafcik. “It’s their psyche.” Comparing Fiat 500 buyers with Fiat 500e buyers showed similar trends. The average person who bought a conventional 500 was age 47 with a household income of $73,000 a year. The 500e attracts buyers with an average age of 45 and annual income of $145,000. 52% of 500 buyers were lured by getting a good deal. Among 500e buyers, that number jumped to 67%. The perfect example of how incentives can influence savvy shoppers occurred earlier this year when a noted San Francisco car enthusiast figured out how he could put a number of incentives together to lease a Fiat 500e for only $82.75 a month. He told a few friends and they all told a few friends. Within a week, more than 100 new 500e’s had moved out of showrooms and onto Bay Area streets. TrueCar’s findings agree with those from a 2012 study by the Electric Vehicle Information Exchange, which found EV owners were primarily “very well educated, upper-middle-class white men in their early 50s with ideal living situations for EV charging.” That doesn’t bode well for manufacturers who hope electric cars will soon be selling by the millions rather than the thousands. There just aren’t that many very well educated upper middle class white men in their early 50’s out there. It’s also bad news for governments that hope electric cars will soon be the vehicle of choice for most people. The findings might cause some to question the wisdom of the $7,500 federal tax credit available to US citizens. Are the taxpayers getting good value for their money or just helping wealthy people get wealthier? Ron Cogan, publisher of the GreenCarJournal, says the electric owners tend to break down in groups. Some are environmental do-gooders who may be poor but are out to save the planet. “They are doing right by the environment,” he says. Others are rich people looking for a deal on a second or third car. With a cheap lease, they can use it to tool around town while the Bentley stays home in the garage. The good news for electric car advocates is that the studies by TrueCar and the Electric Vehicle Information Exchange may be flawed. Ford sold 18,100 of its conventional Focus cars last month but only 124 Focus Electrics. [© ecomento.com] For EVLN posts use: http://evdl.org/evln/ http://www.autoblog.com/2015/05/20/connecticut-cheapr-ev-phev-h2-incentive/ First-gen Chevy Volt doesn't qualify for CT's new max EV rebate http://www.wsj.com/articles/fiat-chrysler-to-use-aluminum-electric-motors-to-boost-fuel-economy-1432127520 CEO considering an e-motor 4Grand Cherokee& Town&Country minivan pih http://blog.caranddriver.com/2017-chrysler-town-country-may-get-electric-motor-based-awd-option/ http://seekingalpha.com/article/3197746-russia-rare-earth-element-production-will-grow Russian Rare Earth Element Production seek$ 2Grow> China competion http://evfleetworld.co.uk/news/2015/May/British-Gas-deploys-electric-shuttle-service/0438019935 British Gas deploys 2 MBenz E-CELL Traveliner electric shuttles http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1098372_german-state-to-test-city-eco-lanes-for-cleanest-cars-carpools German “Umweltstreifen” (eco lane) Testing> For EVs &Cleanest-ice http://thecorknews.ie/articles/it’s-electric-18745 L2 eCar EVSE in Cork.uk, help from DoT regs http://www.issaquahreporter.com/news/304151201.html EVSE @Big Rock Park WA, 20 trees planted for the four trees removed + EVLN: Twizy 'Twambulance' EV redesigned as an Urban-EMS Ambulance {brucedp.150m.com} -- View this message in context: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/EVLN-Plugin-buyers-primarily-seek-a-less-costly-ride-tp4675723.html Sent from the Electric Vehicle Discussion List mailing list archive at Nabble.com. _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
