Automakers, ride-hailing and technology companies ploughing money into the development of electric, self-driving and shared car services will find more enthusiastic consumers in China than in Europe and the United States.
Consumers in some Western countries appear unconvinced as automakers overhaul their factories and supply chains to produce pricey electric cars and invest billions to develop self-driving technology, the survey by OC&C Strategy Consulting showed.
While more than 90 per cent of Chinese residents said they would consider, were likely to or definitely would buy an electric car, only about half of the surveyed consumers in the United States were eyeing an electric car as their next purchase. In Europe, between 64 per cent and 77 per cent of respondents said the same.
The research comes as the global auto industry is undergoing drastic changes with a downturn in sales, the pressure to meet ambitious emissions targets and challenges in deploying fully self-driving cars as robotaxis.
OC&C surveyed around 2,000 consumers in each the US, China, Germany, France and the UK between March and April 2019 in online polls.
Car buyers in the United States, Germany, France and the United Kingdom also largely want to retain private ownership of their vehicle, while more than 90per cent of Chinese consumers is open to fully-shared mobility options, according to the survey.
Overall, around a third of Western consumers in the survey said they were distrustful of self-driving cars, while only 4 per cent of the Chinese respondents said so.
Automakers, ride-hailing and technology companies ploughing money into the development of electric, self-driving and shared car services will find more enthusiastic consumers in China than in Europe and the United States.
While more than 90 per cent of Chinese residents said they would consider, were likely to or definitely would buy an electric car, only about half of the surveyed consumers in the United States were eyeing an electric car as their next purchase. In Europe, between 64 per cent and 77 per cent of respondents said the same.
OC&C surveyed around 2,000 consumers in each the US, China, Germany, France and the UK between March and April 2019 in online polls.
Overall, around a third of Western consumers in the survey said they were distrustful of self-driving cars, while only 4 per cent of the Chinese respondents said so.
