Charting hybrid appeal

Twenty-eight percent of consumers in the market for a new vehicle are considering a hybrid, according to a telephone-based Auto Pulse survey conducted by Consumer Reports National Research Center. Fuel efficiency (87 percent) and environmental impact (86 percent) are a factor for most. Other motivations for choosing a hybrid include:

• 77% Reliability
• 65% Performance
• 58% Concern about dependence on foreign oil
• 58% Purchase price
• 40% Tax incentives
• 37% Resale value
• 24% Political beliefs

Of course, not everyone favors a hybrid. Our research shows that the leading reason for not considering a hybrid is the vehicle selection (50 percent), suggesting that if hybrid powertrains spread to other vehicles, there may be considerably more sales potential.

Other reasons consumers are not considering a hybrid:

• 47% Purchase price
• 45% Performance
• 43% Reliability
• 38% Service costs
• 37% Better alternatives
• 35% Limited availability
• 33% Exaggerated fuel-economy claims
• 29% Resale value

Learn about the impact gas prices on car-buying behavior, read findings from the Consumer Reports Auto Pulse survey on gas prices.

--Jeff Bartlett