Exploring the Demand for Hybrid Vehicles in the US

Hybrid vehicles are gaining in popularity in the US. The three primary reasons appear to be that consumers want to save money on gas, minimize their environmental impacts and reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil.

An analysis from Frost & Sullivan reveals that revenues in the US market totaled $373.2 million in 2005 and reached $851.9 million in 2012.

A 2012 Harris Interactive poll indicated that interest in hybrids is growing across all demographics but particularly the younger (18-35) demographic. For this group 32 percent of those polled indicated interest in hybrids. Of those polled 23 percent said they are more interested in hybrid technology vehicles than in pure electric or pure gas vehicles, while 9 percent expressed interest in a fully electric vehicle.

If we dig deeper into this poll more men (26 percent) than women (20 percent) expressed interest in hybrids.

When asked why they were interested in hybrid vehicles, 55 percent of respondents said they wanted to save money through reduced fuel costs, 26 percent claimed their interest was due to environmental concerns. Another 18 percent indicated they wanted to reduce US dependency on foreign oil.

Surprisingly younger consumers tended to be more interested in saving money, while those over 66 said they were more concerned about the environment and reducing foreign oil dependency.