Survey: 57% of Israelis interested in purchasing an electric car, and 38% say they will buy nothing else.
By DANIELA FELDMANelectric car vehicle 248.88(photo credit: )
When considering their next motor vehicle purchase, Israeli drivers show high interest in purchasing electric vehicles, according to a multinational survey published on Monday.
The survey, conducted by Better Place, a company working to build infrastructure for electric vehicles, showed that 57 percent of Israeli drivers were interested in electric vehicles when looking to purchase their next car. Twenty-eight percent of the respondents said they would only consider an electric vehicle for their purchase.
Polling more than 8,000 drivers from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Israel and the United States, the survey found that 40% of drivers in Denmark were considering purchasing an electric vehicle, while only 30% of drivers in the US expressed an interest in doing so. In Australia, 39% of drivers were considering buying electric vehicles, as were 35% of Canadian drivers from the Greater Toronto area.
While the study also showed that 48% of the people polled across the world did not plan to buy gas-only vehicles in the future, 66% of Israeli drivers would not consider purchasing gas-only cars. The study also showed that drivers between the ages of 18 and 34 were the most interested in purchasing electric cars in the future.
"The survey reflects the future of transportation, which is electric," Better Place founder and CEO Shai Agassi said in a press release. "There's a perfect storm of dynamics driving toward mainstream adoption of [electric vehicles], including consumer desire for a clean planet, global efforts to decrease oil consumption, transformation in the auto sector and significant investment in technology. The combination of these factors is propelling the dawn of a new automotive era."
Of the 1,500 Israelis surveyed, 70% expressed concerns about air pollution, and 67% wanted to see Israel as the leader in developing renewable energy.
Additionally, fuel efficiency, safety, maintenance costs, reliability and emissions were ranked the top priorities for Israeli drivers.
Yishai Horn, a Better Place manager who works with marketing, planning and researching electric cars in Israel, told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday that there was "high awareness among the local audience of the challenges facing Israel."
He said Israelis were seeking environmentally friendly and energy-saving techniques and were concerned about the environment. He added that because Better Place was an Israeli company, there was increased awareness about energy solutions and technology, making it easier for Israelis to seek the solutions.
There have already been some 800 electric charging stations built in the country, and Better Place plans to update other transport solutions and regulatory standards of electric vehicles within the country, Horn said.
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