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Autos fact sheet: CR survey on Americans’ attitudes about fuel economy, hybrid vehicles

A nationally representative survey by Consumer Reports finds Amercans continue to identify fuel economy as an important factor when shopping for a vehicle.

Among the findings:

  • Ninety-five percent of American drivers say fuel economy is at least somewhat important to them when considering what vehicle to purchase or lease, and seven in 10 (70%) say it is very important or extremely important.
  • Most Americans (85%) agree or strongly agree that automakers should continue to improve fuel economy for all vehicle types, and almost as many (82%) agree or strongly agree that making larger vehicles more fuel efficient is important.

The survey also includes findings about consumers’ knowledge of hybrids and their attitudes toward these types of vehicles:

  • Most Americans (86%) say it is true that hybrids are more fuel-efficient than non-hybrid gasoline vehicles of the same class.
  • Two-thirds of Americans (67%) say it is true that hybrid vehicles generally have equivalent performance to gasoline-powered vehicles of the same class.
  • Only one in three (33%) say it is true that hybrid vehicles are less reliable than non-hybrid vehicles.
  • Eighty-five percent of people who say the vehicle they drive most often is some kind of hybrid say it is true that “most hybrid vehicles will pay for any additional purchase costs in fuel savings within a few years of ownership,” while only around two in three (68%) of people who drive non-hybrid gasoline vehicles say this is true.

This nationally representative survey of 2,161 adults residing in the USA was conducted by phone (n=64) and internet (n=2,097) by NORC at the University of Chicago from September 23rd through October 17th, 2022.

See the PDF above for a fact sheet with highlights from the survey. The full survey report is available here.