PHEV Buyers

Moderator: Dahlia Garas, University of California at Davis

Ken Kurani

University of California at Davis, PhD Student

• 2001 NHTS travel data
  • Underrepresents long trips
  • Wrong interpretation

Walter McManus

University of Michigan, Economist

• Why do we have cars? Get to the office, to survive, to go shopping, to get the girl, to win.
• Marketing is not about price
• Basic needs: shelter, food, fire, dog :-)
• Home economicus or homo mundanus :-)
• Minivan is probably the most utilitarian vehicle ever invented, but they are not sexy so people don’t buy them as much as others
• There is more to driving than just getting from point A to point B: the road, the car chase, beauty, romance, identity, The Girl
• There are hints from the Hummer that cars are more than just utilitarian
• Does the Volt evoke things like this?
• Most vehicles have a range of 350 miles
• Volt fits California better than Detroit
• Price will not be the decider – the decider will be everything else
• You want to design a product that people will say “I want it” even if the price is high – like the Hummer
• Plug-in hybrid are kinda “geeky”
• 40 miles is a ludicrous number because the “average” driver doesn’t exist

Jonn Axsen, University of California at Davis

Charging Opportunity

• Online survey by Harris Interactive of 2,373 new vehicle buying households. Questions, trip log, discussion
• Previous analysis suggested 15% to 35% of households were preadapted to PHEVs
• Recharge potential:
  • 50% of population was with 25 feet of recharging outlet each day.
  • About 5% opportunity at work
  • About 10% at other locations
• Cars parked and opportunity to charge coincides and peaks at 6pm and then through the night

What Do Consumers Want?

• Selected smaller sample based on recharge potential, desire to buy
• Criteria: Recharge time, MPG or all electric (charge depleting – CD), range, MPG after batteries depleted (charge sustaining – CS)
• Base model: 8 hour recharge, 75 MPG, 10 mile range, MPG + 10
• First game, assign points to upgrades desired
  • Upgrades wanted: recharge time least desired, other upgrades desired about the same
  • Ideal: 8 hour charge time, 125 MPG CD, 40 mil range, +30 MPG CS
• Price for upgrade
  • 38% stayed with base system

Summary

• Recharge potential: 53% (36-61%) Helpful to have detached house or garage
• Little potential for work and opportunity charging with current driving patterns
• Recharge time: highest at night 50%, lowest during the day 20%
• Little evidence of “Volt Assumption”
• Little inherent interest in All-electric operation
• Most frequent upgrades: CS fuel economy
• About a 1/3 people stayed with base PHEV model
• Wide variation in response

Conclusion

• More potential for recharging than thought
• Wide range of niche markets

This report will be available on the ITS Davis Website on August 1

Questions

• In study, how was “all electric” described? Answer: Study was careful not create value, so only gave minimal information and didn’t give any benefits of “all electric”