Car buyers interest in hybrids and flexible fuels increasing

Trend: New car buyers are increasingly interested in fuel savings and environment impact.

The J.D. Power and Associates 2006 Alternative Powertrain Study* shows 15 out of 37 automotive brands are represented in the top 30 list of environmentally friendly vehicles.

Link: J.D. Power and Associates | Press Pass | Press Releases

Among the top 30 AEI vehicles, eight are hybrids:

Ford Escape Hybrid	Lexus RX 400H
Honda Accord Hybrid	Mercury Mariner Hybrid
Honda Civic Hybrid	Toyota Highlander Hybrid
Honda Insight	Toyota Prius

Traditional gasoline-powered models in the top 30 are:

Acura RSX	Hyundai Elantra	Suzuki Reno
Chevrolet Aveo	Kia Rio	Toyota Camry
Chevrolet Cobalt	Kia Spectra	Toyota Corolla
Ford Focus	Mazda3	Volkswagen Golf
Ford Focus Station Wagon	Mazda MX-5	Volkswagen Jetta
Honda Accord	Nissan Sentra	Volkswagen New Beetle
Honda Civic	Saturn Ion
Hyundai Accent	Scion xA

Hybrid SUVs are the only truck models among the top 30. Only two luxury models—the Lexus RX400H and Acura RSX—are included among the top environmentally friendly vehicles.

Volkswagen ranks highest among nameplates in the Automotive Environmental Index, with three models in the top 30. While there are no diesels within the top 30, several diesel models from Volkswagen also perform well, which is reflected in VW’s strong overall nameplate performance.  VW is followed in the nameplate rankings by Honda and Mazda, respectively.

The study, which examines consumer perceptions regarding hybrids, diesel and flexible fuel vehicles, finds that fewer than one-fourth (23%) of consumers say they will only consider a gasoline-powered model for their next new vehicle. Among consumers who expect to acquire a new vehicle within the next two years, 57 percent indicate that they are considering a hybrid vehicle, while 49 percent are considering a flexible fuel (E85 ethanol-based fuel blend) vehicle and 12 percent a diesel.

*The Alternative Powertrain Study (APS) includes the Automotive Environmental Index (AEI), which combines U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publicly available information with voice-of-the-customer data related to fuel economy, air pollution and greenhouse gases for 2006 model-year vehicles.  Voice-of-the-customer data is also used to help determine the relative importance of these environmental factors. The fuel economy factor represents approximately 50 percent of the index, while air pollution and greenhouse gases contribute to the remainder.

via GreenBiz.com