If they were to buy a car now, two out of three drivers would prefer a combustion engine. According to a survey, only about one in five people would consider an electric car. There are many caveats.
Vehicles with combustion engines continue to be very popular with drivers. This emerges from Targobank’s annual car survey, which is available to the German Press Agency. According to this, when buying a car, 68 percent of those surveyed would prefer a combustion engine to an electric car (2023: 72 percent).
At the same time, 31 percent think that combustion engines are no longer up to date. 1,009 drivers took part in the representative online survey by the opinion research institute Forsa.
The Targobank car study showed that when buying a car, 31 percent of those surveyed would give priority to gasoline engines, while 13 percent would choose a diesel. 15 percent could imagine a car with a hybrid drive and three percent could imagine a fuel cell vehicle. 17 percent would prefer a purely electric car. The remaining 21 percent were undecided. According to the survey, 29 percent of combustion engine drivers plan to switch to an alternative drive. In 2023 it was still 36 percent.
Image of electric cars is improving
According to the survey, the image of electric cars has improved within twelve months. 43 percent of those surveyed consider electric cars to be more environmentally friendly than combustion engines, which is four points more than in 2023. Among the concerns about electric cars mentioned in the survey, the comparatively high purchase price, the environmental damage of the batteries, their limited lifespan, an underdeveloped charging station network and a range that is too short. The popularity of hybrid vehicles fell by three percentage points to 54 percent within a year.
The topic of support for mobility by the employer was also asked. 75 percent of employees would like a free charging infrastructure for e-cars and e-bikes at work. 65 percent found the offer of a job bike option attractive. For 52 percent of those surveyed, employers could benefit from a financial subsidy for chargers if they switched privately to electric cars.
Source: Stern
