Tuesday 15 March 2011. The Green Piece Column.
Do you think that a hybrid electric vehicle can run on batteries only? Or that a battery electric vehicle takes less than 15 minutes to refuel? Or perhaps you think that plug-in hybrids have no exhaust emissions?
If so, it might be time to attend ‘green car school’… but at least you won’t be alone in the classroom.
On the contrary, a new survey from Synovate has revealed that Americans know painfully little about electric and hybrid cars.
Lack of knowledge
The market research firm asked 1,898 new car buyers some basic questions about how the vehicles work and received some interesting answers about the technology that showed a stark lack of knowledge.
For example, 28 per cent of people polled think that hybrid cars need to be plugged in to charge the batteries; while 40 per cent think that plug-in hybrid electric vehicles have no exhaust emissions at all. Indeed 35 per cent thought that hybrid cars can run on an electric motor only; while 15 per cent believed that battery electric vehicles use both petrol to power an internal combustion engine and batteries for an electric motor.
Synovate gave consumers a grade for their knowledge about the various types of vehicles. Their mark was ‘C’ for battery electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles; and a ‘D’ for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.
Worrying trends
While it would be easy to make light of the misconceptions, they represent a serious issue that manufacturers and dealerships need to address.
This level of confusion could well get in the way of sales, particularly in the short term. Senior vice president of Synovate Motoresearch Stephen Popiel commented that dealers will be required to spend an “inordinate amount of time” explaining how plug-in hybrids and battery electric vehicles work to interested buyers. For example, will a motorist who has gone into a dealership to buy a Chevrolet Volt or Nissan LEAF still be interested in the vehicle when they realise there is a need for plugs and 220V outlets?
Perhaps the most worrying misconception was that 51 per cent of respondents believed that battery electric vehicles could be recharged in less than 15 minutes. Although quick chargers are available that can recharge some vehicles to around 80 per cent capacity in 30 minutes, generally a full recharge for a typical battery electric vehicle will take four-eight hours.
Of course the bulk of the early adopters who are going to buy an electric vehicle over the next two years will usually have a basic understanding of the technology because they have followed the introductions of these vehicles closely. However, it seems that there is a long way to go towards mass public education.
The basics
Most regular readers of TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk will have a firm understanding of how these vehicles work. However, just in case you’re visiting for the first time, here is a quick rundown of the bare basics:
- Battery electric vehicles: Take their power from a battery pack with no petrol back up. Most modern electric vehicles use lithium-ion batteries and can be recharged in around four-eight hours. They are often referred to as zero emission vehicles because they have no exhaust emissions, although critics highlight that they are not strictly “zero emission” until the electricity they use as power is taken from renewable sources. The range of these vehicles varies widely, but in the case of the Nissan LEAF, the car can travel 100miles on a single charge.
- Hybrid vehicles: These vehicles, such as the Toyota Prius, use an electric motor and a battery pack to assist the internal combustion engine, which is typically small. In some cases, the vehicles can drive short distances on electric charge only. However, hybrid vehicles do not need to be plugged in – instead they generate electricity every time the driver brakes.
- Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles: Plug-in hybrids work in a similar way to hybrid cars but feature much larger battery packs and can be plugged in to the grid. They can typically travel around 10-50miles on electric charge alone, with the petrol engine used for longer distances.
Our verdict – Time to spread the word
Perhaps the overall lack of knowledge about green cars can be forgiven, given that they are a relatively new phenomenon and there are few electric cars and plug-in hybrids on the market – however, when you consider that the Toyota Prius hybrid car has been available since 1997, the statistics are worrying.
With electrification of the automobile drawing ever closer, and governments and manufacturers alike pushing to meet strict emission targets, it appears there is a serious need to educate the public on how these vehicles work and their benefits. Failure to do this quickly may present yet another barrier to buying and throw up another roadblock to the vehicles’ progress.
Faye Sunderland.
