Cars, Italians increasingly ready for a hybrid-electric turn

 Almost 9 out of 10 Italians say they are ready to buy hybrid or electric cars at affordable prices. The main reason for the purchase declared is of a social nature ('' not to pollute ''), followed by the economic motivation (savings). The distrust of these power supplies is linked to pricing and, for electricity, to the uncertainties on the battery topic (charging times, presence of columns, autonomy). Although knowledge of electric and hybrid motors remains low and still few have driven them, 2 out of 3 Italians are willing to pay up to 10% more than traditional vehicles for them. To proceed with the purchase, the test drive is decisive, which allows you to overcome some resistances. These are the main evidences that emerge from the new survey 'Hybrid and electric cars, what do you think?', Conducted in November by Areté, a company that deals with strategic consultancy founded by Massimo Ghenzer. Thanks to the incentive campaign set up by the Government, in October the share of these cars on the total registered exceeded 25%. A boom today due in particular to the various hybrid solutions. The survey photographs consumers' propensity to buy: over 9 out of 10 say they are ready to buy hybrid cars and almost 87% to buy electric cars. In both cases the main reason for the declared purchase is of a social nature ('' in order not to pollute ''), even if the economic lever, in its various forms, is an essential component of the change of customs in progress, especially : fuel savings (indicated by 33% of the sample), use of incentives (13%), the possibility of not paying the road tax (5%), savings on maintenance (5%), non-payment of parking on the blue stripes (3%). The party of skeptics about these technologies is reduced, whose lack of feeling remains due to now 'historical' reasons: high price of the models, perplexity about autonomy (for the electric), uncertainty about where to recharge it (for the electric ). Reasons often linked to the lack of knowledge of these engines and that arise from personal experiences: only 32% confirm that they have driven a hybrid car at least once and 23% have been behind the wheel of an electric car. Among the strengths of the experience on electrified cars, motorists indicate silence (reported by 44% of respondents), relaxed driving (27%) and low fuel consumption (17%). Things are no better on the theoretical front. Overall, more than 50% of Italians know little or nothing about the characteristics of full / mild / plug-in hybrid engines. Precisely because of the lack of awareness of these power supplies, 9 out of 10 potential buyers consider the test drive to be decisive for maturing the purchase decision and to do so they are ready to go to the dealership (88%) or to wait at their home (12 %). Another chapter concerns the methods of purchasing electric cars, for which the tendency to follow less traditional channels is accentuated, which make it possible to overcome various potential critical issues related to the management of the car (for example maintenance and resale of used vehicles): over half are he says he is ready to apply for a loan, 6% to activate a leasing contract and as many as 15% intend to use the growing solutions offered by rental companies. The rented car protects the motorist from possible problems due to the paradigm change and allows him to avoid significant capital fixed assets.