Enhanced Fuel Economy Tops List of Automotive Technologies European Vehicle Owners Say They are Likely to Purchase
New Harris Interactive AutoTECHCAST Europe study gauges consumer attitudes in the five largest European countries toward 61 advanced automotive technologies
DETROIT and ROCHESTER, N.Y., May 8 -- A new automotive study conducted by Harris Interactive(R) in the five largest European countries shows that enhanced fuel economy is the top automotive technology vehicle owners say they are very or extremely likely to purchase for their next new vehicle (41%). This is consistent with findings from a U.S.-based study, also conducted by Harris Interactive, showing that nearly half (47%) of vehicle owners are very or extremely likely to purchase a new vehicle with enhanced fuel economy.(1) However, Europeans in the five major markets are significantly less likely than their U.S. counterparts to say they are very or extremely likely to purchase a new vehicle with hybrid electric technology (20% vs. 30%).
These are some of the results from the inaugural Harris Interactive AutoTECHCAST(SM) Europe, a study conducted bi-annually among adults in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The study is designed to collect consumer-based information on 61 advanced automotive technologies. This wave of the study was conducted online between February 15 and March 20, 2006 among a cross-section of 19,382 adults ages 18 and over who own or lease a vehicle, have a valid driver's license, have at least one household vehicle and own a listed European model dated 1998 or newer.
"Overall, the European market appears much less interested in hybrid technology versus what we see in the United States, especially when considering the cost that it adds to a vehicle," says Bryan Krulikowski, Senior Director of Automotive and Transportation Research at Harris Interactive. "European consumers already enjoy access to fuel-efficient diesel-powered vehicles and are looking beyond hybrid technology."
In fact, European respondents are significantly more likely to say they will purchase a fuel cell vehicle (28% say they are very/extremely likely) than a hybrid (20%). Italians show the greatest purchase consideration for this technology as almost half (48%) say they are very or extremely likely to next purchase a fuel cell vehicle.
The key factor, however, is affordability. While purchase consideration for fuel-efficient technologies is high among Europeans in the five major markets, the additional cost they place on a vehicle makes them less attractive. Purchase consideration for both enhanced fuel economy and fuel cell vehicles declines significantly once respondents are made aware of their estimated market prices, an additional euro 950 (650 pounds Sterling) and euro 5,800 (4,000 pounds), respectively.
"While consumers indicate they are not willing to pay for this technology at today's estimated prices, their initial high level of interest suggests that these technologies will gain consideration as they become more affordable," continues Krulikowski.
The specific country from which a consumer resides, as well as the type of vehicle they currently own, has considerable impact on their likelihood to purchase advanced automotive technologies. For instance, Spanish consumers show the highest levels of familiarity and purchase consideration for the majority of technologies measured, while owners of small city/small compact cars tend to show below average purchase consideration levels.
"Like we see in the United States, European car owners are diverse in their demographics as well as their specific vehicle needs," says Krulikowski. "AutoTECHCAST Europe is a resource that allows vehicle manufacturers and suppliers to analyze these various groups to truly understand where their technology will find success."
TABLE 1
FAMILIARITY WITH ADVANCED VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY
"How familiar are you with ... "
Percent saying extremely/very familiar
Base: All respondents assigned (variable base)
Europe
Total UK France Italy Germany Spain
% % % % % %
Music storage drive 40 30 24 46 45 60
Rain sensor and automatic wiper 37 28 30 32 49 43
Wireless hands-free cell phone 33 31 19 40 30 57
Bluetooth connectivity 31 31 18 44 23 54
Park assist and object detection 28 14 25 28 40 32
High-performance halogen and
xenon lighting 26 16 16 29 36 33
Digital surround audio system 25 22 12 29 27 38
MP3/iPOD audio system interface 25 17 12 35 28 36
Digital radio 24 25 10 26 27 31
Intelligent navigation system 24 22 10 28 27 34
Note: Top 10 responses shown.
TABLE 2
LIKELIHOOD OF PURCHASING TECHNOLOGY IN NEXT NEW VEHICLE
"How likely would you be to purchase this technology on your next new
vehicle?"
Percent saying extremely/very likely
Base: All respondents assigned (variable base)
Europe
US Total UK France Italy Germany Spain
% % % % % % %
Enhanced fuel economy 47 41 32 39 44 35 66
High-performance halogen
and xenon lighting 27 35 18 28 42 43 48
Intelligent navigation
system 24 35 22 28 42 34 55
Park assist and object
detection 24 35 28 35 36 37 42
Rollover control and
protection-side airbags
and electronics 33 34 25 29 42 30 58
Advanced automotive air
conditioning system 34 30 13 27 37 33 44
Light-emitting diode (LED)
lighting 30 30 18 24 36 37 38
Adaptive headlamps/
headlights 30 29 24 15 38 30 43
Advanced tire pressure
monitoring 32 29 21 23 37 30 39
Advanced windshield/
windscreen washing system 30 25 20 17 31 27 32
Hybrid electric vehicle 30 20 10 19 26 21 29
Electronic stability
control 30 NA NA NA NA NA NA
Fuel Cell Vehicle 28 28 24 18 48 19 37
Note: Only top 5 U.S. and 5-country European total responses shown. Fuel
cell vehicle technology also included for the purposes of this
release.
TABLE 3
LIKELIHOOD OF PURCHASING TECHNOLOGY IN NEXT NEW VEHICLE
"How likely would you be to purchase this technology on your next new
vehicle?"
Percent saying extremely/very likely
Small Mid-Size Exec- Sports
Europe City/ Compact/ utive/ Compact/ SUV/ Coupe/
Total Compact Mid-Size Luxury Large MPV 4x4 Convert-
ible
% % % % % % %
Enhanced fuel
economy 41 44 45 42 34 38 50
High-performance
halogen and
xenon lighting 35 32 37 57 29 43 36
Intelligent
navigation
system 35 31 35 51 34 46 46
Park assist &
object detection 35 26 39 50 38 41 39
Rollover control
& protection -
side airbags &
electronics 34 30 37 41 37 43 45
Note: Top 5 European responses shown.
TABLE 4
LIKELIHOOD OF PURCHASING HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLE IF NO EXTRA COST
"If the Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) technology were to be added to a new vehicle, but would not increase the cost, how likely would you be to purchase
the vehicle over competitor vehicles?"
Base: All respondents randomly assigned to assess hybrid electric vehicle technology
Europe
Total US
% %
More Likely (NET) 67 68
Much more likely 41 47
More likely 26 22
Slightly/No More Likely (NET) 33 32
Slightly More Likely 17 18
No More Likely 16 14
Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding.
TABLE 5
LIKELIHOOD OF PURCHASING HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLE FOR ADDITIONAL COST
Europe: "How likely would you be to purchase Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV)
technology if it added euro 4,000 (3,000 pounds) to the total cost of your
vehicle?" U.S.: "How likely would you be to purchase Hybrid Electric Vehicle technology
if it added $3,000 to the total cost of your vehicle?"
Base: All respondents randomly assigned to assess hybrid electric vehicle technology
Europe
Total US
% %
Extremely/Very likely (NET) 7 15
Extremely likely 2 6
Very likely 5 9
Likely 14 18
Somewhat/Not at all Likely (NET) 79 67
Somewhat likely 26 30
Not at all likely 53 38
Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding.
TABLE 6
LIKELIHOOD OF PURCHASING ENHANCED FUEL ECONOMY VEHICLE IF NO EXTRA COST
"If the enhanced fuel economy technology were to be added to a new vehicle,
but would not increase the cost, how likely would you be to purchase the
vehicle over competitor vehicles?"
Base: All respondents randomly assigned to assess hybrid electric vehicle technology
Europe
Total
%
More Likely (NET) 77
Much more likely 49
More likely 28
Slightly/No More Likely (NET) 23
Slightly More Likely 17
No More Likely 6
Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding.
TABLE 7
LIKELIHOOD OF PURCHASING ENHANCED FUEL ECONOMY VEHICLE FOR ADDITIONAL COST
"How likely would you be to purchase enhanced fuel economy technology if it
added euro 950 (650 pounds) to the total cost of your vehicle?"
Base: All respondents randomly assigned to assess hybrid electric vehicle technology
Europe
Total
%
Extremely/Very likely (NET) 14
Extremely likely 4
Very likely 11
Likely 24
Somewhat/Not at all Likely (NET) 61
Somewhat likely 32
Not at all likely 29
Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding.
TABLE 8
LIKELIHOOD OF PURCHASING FUEL CELL VEHICLE IF NO EXTRA COST
"If the fuel cell vehicle technology were to be added to a new vehicle, but
would not increase the cost, how likely would you be to purchase the vehicle
over competitor vehicles?"
Base: All respondents assigned (variable base)
Europe
Total
%
More Likely (NET) 68
Much more likely 45
More likely 23
Slightly/No More Likely (NET) 32
Slightly More Likely 18
No More Likely 14
Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding.
TABLE 9
LIKELIHOOD OF PURCHASING FUEL CELL VEHICLE
Europe: "How likely would you be to purchase fuel cell vehicle technology if
it added euro 5,800 (4,000 pounds) to the total cost of your vehicle?"
Base: All respondents randomly assigned to assess fuel cell vehicle technology
Europe
Total
%
Extremely/Very likely (NET) 7
Extremely likely 2
Very likely 5
Likely 13
Somewhat/Not at all Likely (NET) 80
Somewhat likely 21
Not at all likely 60
Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding.
Methodology
Harris Interactive conducted this online survey in the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy and Germany between February 15 and March 20, 2006 among a total of 19,382 adults aged 18 and over. Qualified respondents had to own or lease a vehicle, have a valid driver's license, have at least one household vehicle and own a listed European model dated 1998 or newer. Figures for age, gender, race/ethnicity, education, income and region were weighted where necessary to align with population proportions. Propensity score weighting was also applied to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.
All surveys are subject to several sources of error. These include: sampling error (because only a sample of a population is interviewed); measurement error due to question wording and/or question order, deliberately or unintentionally inaccurate responses, nonresponse (including refusals), interviewer effects (when live interviewers are used) and weighting.
With one exception (sampling error) the magnitude of the errors that result cannot be estimated. There is, therefore, no way to calculate a finite "margin of error" for any survey and the use of these words should be avoided.
With pure probability samples, with 100 percent response rates, it is possible to calculate the probability that the sampling error (but not other sources of error) is not greater than some number. With a pure probability sample of 19,382 vehicle-owning adults one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 1 percentage point. However that does not take other sources of error into account. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
About Harris Interactive(R) Automotive & Transportation Research (ATR) Practice
The Harris Interactive ATR Practice, (http://www.harrisinteractive.com/services/automotive.asp) based in Rochester, New York and Detroit, Michigan, specializes in consumer-based and business-to- business- based market research for vehicle manufacturers, Tier 1-2-3 suppliers and automotive distribution firms. Additional information on the AutoTECHCAST Europe study can be found at: http://www.harrisinteractive.com/services/autotechcasteurope.asp
About Harris Interactive(R)
Harris Interactive Inc. (http://www.harrisinteractive.com/), based in Rochester, New York, is the 13th largest and the fastest-growing market research firm in the world, most widely known for The Harris Poll(R) and for its pioneering leadership in the online market research industry. Long recognized by its clients for delivering insights that enable confident business decisions, the Company blends the science of innovative research with the art of strategic consulting to deliver knowledge that leads to measurable and enduring value.
Harris Interactive serves clients worldwide through its United States, Europe (http://www.harrisinteractive.com/europe) and Asia offices, its wholly- owned subsidiary Novatris in Paris, France (http://www.novatris.com/), and through an independent global network of affiliate market research companies. EOE M/F/D/V
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Press Contact:
Jen Cummings
Harris Interactive
585-214-7720
Harris Interactive Inc. 05/06
(1) U.S. data based on the Harris Interactive AutoTECHCAST(SM) study
conducted online in the United States between November 14 and
December 2, 2005 among 14,124 adults aged 18 and over who own or lease
a vehicle model year 2000 or newer and is at least 50 percent involved
in the decision to buy their next household vehicle. Sampling error is
+/-1 percentage point.
