GRA
Well-known member
Via GCR: http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1105454_electric-car-pioneers-vs-mainstream-buyers-how-they-differ-in-canada-exclusive
Which is why I consider providing a $25k MSRP, 20 mile AER PHEV more important at the moment for mainstream acceptance than any BEV. Depending on how Toyota prices it, the Prius Prime may be close, ugly though it is.. . . The findings should remind proponents and advocates that the broader public doesn't always share their motivations or product preferences. . . .
Shifting to the terminology used in the Canadian Plug-in Electric Vehicle Study, electric-car pioneers can and will pay a premium to be part of a revolutionary advance, and they will accept risks and inconveniences if necessary.
The Potential Early Mainstream buyers, being pragmatists, are risk-averse and prefer evolutionary change. They're not willing to make those compromises. . . .
Pioneer and Mainstream respondents differed from the outset, with Pioneers slightly favoring all-electric vehicles while the Mainstream overwhelmingly preferred plug-in hybrids.
This is consistent with Mainstream buyers being risk-averse; the presence of a parallel combustion system likely provided comfort.
The number of vehicles in the household was probably another factor. While only 14 percent of British Columbia Pioneers (one in seven) lived in one-car households, fully 43 percent of the province's Early Majority (three in seven) did. That suggests that their chosen vehicle would have to be less specialized, and more suitable for road trips, camping, and other vehicular activities. . . .
Men made up 82 percent of the Pioneer group, and 49 percent reported household incomes above $125,000. Only 36 percent of the Early Mainstream participants were male, and 66 percent had household incomes below $90,000[/b].
When the respondents' values and paradigms were assessed using a standard social-science protocol, Pioneers were found to have significantly higher technology and environmental orientations relative to the Mainstream. . . .