2015 Harris Poll: US Car Owners Slightly More Interested In EVs, 29% Would Consider PHEVs, 21% BEVs

Almost 1 in 3 Americans Would Consider A Plug-In Hybrid For Their Next Car Purchase Accord To The 2015 Harris Poll

A recent Harris poll took stock of the "electric car" pulse of America, and found that while interest in hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and pure electric cars was growing – it wasn't growing all that fast.

Out of 2,225 US car owners surveyed online, 29% said they would consider a PHEV such as the Chevrolet Volt or Ford Fusion Energi, a percentage that was just up 2% from a 2013 poll.

US Driver Wish List For BEVS: Lower Price, More Range – Makes Sense To Us

For pure electric cars – such as the Nissan LEAF and Tesla Model S, 21% said they would considering cutting out the gas station altogether; this figure was also up 2% from 2013.

Traditional hybrids still hold a firm lead over their 'greener' counterparts with 48% of respondents saying they would consider a car like the Toyota Prius for their next vehicle – a number that remained unchanged from 2 years ago.

Other points of interest we found in the survey results:

* – Men are more likely than women to consider an electric vehicle (25% men, 17% women)

* – Distance drivers – those who travel over 50 miles in an average day – are especially likely to say they'd consider a plug-in hybrid (38%, vs. 28% of those traveling 30 miles or less in a typical day), or a pure electric (32% vs. 18%)

* – Democrats and Independents are more likely than Republicans to consider a traditional hybrid (53% Dem, 52% Ind and 42% Rep), or a plug-in hybrid (34%, 32% and 20%) or a pure electric

* – Millennials drivers are more likely than their elder counterparts to consider a traditional hybrid, with 57% saying they'd consider one (vs. 49% of Gen Xers, 43% of Baby Boomers and 38% of Matures). This same trend holds true for plug-in hybrids (39% vs. 28%, 22% and 23%) and pure electrics (34% vs. 17%, 14% and 11%)

The survey also dug a little deeper into what may be holding back adoption of pure electric cars in the US.

When asked to select their top concerns related to pure electric vehicles, price (67%) and range (64%) rise to the top, followed by repair/maintenance costs (58%), reliability (53%), performance/power (50%) and the fact that it's still new technology (42%).

Top Concerns With BEVs (via 2015 Harris Poll)

Looking at some of the concerns potential owners had for BEVs, it is clear that more education is needed as electric cars have proven themselves to be very reliable overall, as well as costing only a fraction of a petrol car to maintain.

If interested, there is lots more data and swell charts over at the 2015 Harris Poll result page.

Source: 2015 Harris Poll: US Car Owners Slightly More Interested In EVs, 29% Would Consider PHEVs, 21% BEVs