Despite record oil prices in most countries and concerns about global pollution levels,
awareness and adoption of alternative fuel engine technologies are fairly low, according
to a recent Synovate survey. Even direct injection diesel engines are an unknown for many
consumers outside Western Europe, with one-third of those surveyed never having heard of
such technology.
Synovate surveyed 4,568 respondents in the United States, Canada, China, Malaysia,
Singapore, Thailand, Russia and Morocco, probing their familiarity with, usage of and
openness toward hybrid electric, direct injection diesel and alternative fuel source
vehicles.
Globally, hybrid electric vehicles are the least familiar to consumers, with only 1
percent of those surveyed currently or previously owning such a vehicle. However,
consumers in the US and Canada are more likely to consider hybrids over any other
alternative to conventional engines. This technology is least familiar in Malaysia and
Morocco, where 50 and 45 percent of respondents respectively have never heard of this
type of vehicle.
How familiar are you with hybrid electric vehicles?
Direct injection diesel technology, a dramatic improvement over its predecessor diesel
technology in terms of fuel efficiency, performance and tailpipe emissions, enjoys the
highest adoption, but still at a very low 5 percent among all those surveyed. This
technology is most prevalent in Morocco, with 16 percent of respondents owning or having
owned such a vehicle. Interestingly, for Americans this type of engine is the least
familiar of the three technologies covered in the survey, with 37 percent never having
heard of direct injection diesels.
"Diesel technology has improved dramatically over the last decade, as is evidenced by
broad adoption in many European markets," says Scott Miller, CEO of Synovate Motoresearch.
"Outside Europe, however, it is plagued by consumer familiarity with older diesel
technology most typically found in pickups and commercial vehicles, which are typically
loud, rough and have visible tailpipe emissions. The challenge facing diesel advocates is
how to get enough newer diesels into the market to expedite the same change in perception
that has taken place in Europe."
How familiar are you with direct-injection diesel vehicles?
Vehicles running on alternative fuel sources such as natural gas, ethanol, methanol or bio
diesel are also a mystery for many respondents, as only 2 percent have bought into this
technology, with Canadians topping the list at 4 percent. While 91 percent of North
Americans are familiar with this technology, by contrast 36 percent of Malaysians and
Moroccans and 33 percent of Singaporeans have never heard of alternative fuel source-powered
vehicles.
"Alternative fuel vehicles are typically developed in small, experimental volumes for
commercial application, which is why so few retail consumers have seen or even heard of
them," explains Miller, adding that the fuelling infrastructure does not exist to offer
general consumers a minimally acceptable level of convenience. "This is a serious 'chicken
or egg' problem for the energy and automotive industries. Manufacturers can't afford to
launch vehicles that are not supported by a refuelling infrastructure, and the energy
industry can't afford to build the infrastructure and wait 10 years for enough vehicles to
be on the road to make it worth their investment."
How familiar are you with engines which run on alternative fuel sources?
What factors would prompt consumers to purchase an alternative fuel engine technology
vehicle? The desire to produce less pollution comes first at 82 percent, with the need for
better fuel economy a close second at 76 percent. Meanwhile, respondents who would not
consider buying alternative fuel engine technology vehicles cite high cost as their main
concern.
"The principal perceived benefit of most of these technologies is a reduced impact on the
environment, which while important, does not tend to strongly affect individual purchase
behaviour in most markets," notes Miller. "As a result, consumers have not driven the
demand for such vehicles. Instead, these vehicles have been regarded as requiring the
consumer to pay a higher price and make unacceptable tradeoffs in areas like performance,
vehicle size and design."
But hybrid vehicles may be leading a change in consumer attitude in some markets where they
are being promoted aggressively by well-respected manufacturers such as Toyota and Honda.
And the required sacrifices are disappearing, with some new hybrids actually boasting better
acceleration than the vehicles’ conventional engine options.
"The environment is becoming increasingly important to the consumer," concludes Miller.
"Now they have an option to 'do the right thing' for society without giving up the things
that matter to them as individual vehicle buyers."
