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Location : Wasted Space Job/hobbies : Cayman Islands Actuary
| Subject: OZschwitz motorists continue to shun green cars Sun Jan 27, 2013 4:20 pm | |
| AUSTRALIANS appear reluctant to pay more for fuel-efficient vehicles, despite hybrid and electric vehicles becoming more accessible.
More than 98 per cent of private new car buyers chose conventionally powered cars last year, with 96 per cent of fleet vehicle sales going to petrol, diesel or LPG-fuelled vehicles.
The new car market is home to three electric cars - the Nissan Leaf, Mitsubishi i-MiEV and Holden Volt (which has electric and petrol engines) - as well as 14 hybrid vehicles that have struggled to strike a chord with motorists.
Sales of hybrid vehicles were up more than 50 per cent last year, but only 13,919 hybrid cars and SUVs were delivered to customers last year. Advertisement
Hybrids have proved more popular in corporate and government fleets but even fleet managers have been reluctant to adopt green cars in large numbers. Paul Scully, the national marketing and communications manager for LeasePlan, which organises corporate and government vehicles for about 1200 organisations, said fears about battery deterioration and range problems were compounded by concerns that hybrid and electric cars would plummet in value after three or four years.
http://smh.drive.com.au/motor-news/motorists-continue-to-shun-green-cars-20130127-2df0f.html |
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