Car buyers demand greener auto industry

According to a new survey released by Good Business, 61% of consumers demand greater environmental commitment from car companies and are sending a clear message to car manufacturers that they need to do more to tackle climate change.

The independent survey of over 1,000 adults in the UK revealed that not only do 73% think the industry is not doing enough to address its social and environmental impacts, but 61% believe the industry is not taking the environmental impact of driving seriously.

Consumers themselves appear to be taking it seriously, with nearly a quarter (21%) saying the environmental performance is the most important factor when choosing a new car, ahead of price, performance and brand.

Despite many consumers not being convinced by car manufacturers' commitment to the environment, the survey suggests that their confidence in the industry has actually been rising. This year, overall impressions of all car brands have risen compared with this time in 2008.

Giles Gibbons, Founder and CEO of Good Business: "Climate change and the impact on the environment are clearly the overwhelmingly important issues for car manufacturers to address, especially in consumers' minds, and pressure to keep improving their environmental credentials is only going to get stronger. However, with trust in the industry improving, manufacturers must also take care not to ignore the social challenges they face, such as how they deal with job losses in the current economic climate, that might jeopardise this confidence."

When it comes to choosing a more environmentally friendly vehicle, consumers take a pragmatic approach and prioritise more mainstream options – efficient petrol cars and hybrids are the most likely purchases for 37% and 27% of consumers respectively, and are also the type of cars that most consumers think they will be driving in 10 years time. In contrast, the proportion of people considering electric vehicles remains comparatively low – only 9% think they will be driving one in 10 year's time, indicating that the majority of consumers are some way from recognising this technology as a viable option. The question is whether the Government's recent commitment of £25m for electric vehicles will change consumers' mindsets.

Brane Bosancic, Marketing Manager, Fiat UK: " We recognise that people care about the environment and want practical, accessible solutions to help them do their bit. For Fiat, this means not only are we constantly improving the efficiency of our vehicles, but we are also helping consumers improve their own driving eco-efficiency through innovations such as our eco:Drive tool, which provides a simple way for everyone to reduce the environmental impact of driving."

Honda and Toyota continue to top the list of the brands consumers think are doing most on the environment, at 25% and 21% respectively. However, falls for BMW (down 5%) and Mercedes (down 4%), suggest that these manufacturers, associated with performance and high-value cars, have some work to do to persuade consumers of their commitment to the environment.

The new government scrappage scheme is familiar to almost all consumers (91%), although only 1% have used it. The initiative seems to have influenced opinions on who should take responsibility for a car at the end of its life cycle. The proportion identifying the government as responsible has increased from 22% to 28% this year, matched by a drop in the proportion seeing individuals as responsible. Manufacturers, however, are still seen by most (36%) as bearing the greatest responsibility for end-of-life disposal.

Other key facts from the survey include:
73% think manufacturers are not doing enough to address social and environmental issues;
41% think a manufacturer's promise to offset the first 45,000 miles would be an attractive proposition;
69% have cut the amount of trips they make by car over the past year, up 6% on 2008;
38% cite cost as the reason for driving less, with 36% attributing it to a change in lifestyle;
46% no longer use the car for local shopping trips;
91% are aware of the Government scrappage scheme but only 1% have used it;
Opinion is split on the use of public funding to bail out struggling car manufacturers - 39% say yes, 39% say no.