Millennials are on-board with the EV transition, survey finds

The majority (53%) of millennials would consider buying an electric vehicle (EV) within the next 10 years, or already own one, whilst three-quarters see switching to an eco-friendly car as the single best action to drive a more sustainable future.


Those are the key findings of a new survey released on Monday (19 September) by Japanese carmaker Nissan, which assessed the views of 2,500 millennials – people born between 1982 and 2004 – towards electric and hybrid vehicles.

“We’ve always known that millennials are the challenger generation but our European study has also revealed that they’re the future ‘change-makers’ – willing to make drastic lifestyle choices to make a meaningful difference to the world they live in,” said Nissan Europe’s director of electric vehicles Gareth Dunsmore.

“It gives me immeasurable hope to see that millennials believe electric vehicles… are part of the solution for a more sustainable future. As an industry we must work harder to engage the interests and needs of this group.”

Nissan’s survey, which  focused on the UK, France, Italy, Germany and Spain, goes on to reveal that the majority of millennials are more concerned with global environmental issues such as climate change (53%) and air pollution (42%) than with ‘smaller-scale’ issues such as recycling and overflowing landfills. They consider green car adoption as the best way they can mitigate these issues, Nissan says.

The results of the survey were revealed at ‘radical ideas’-themed event, FutureFest 2016, at the Tobacco Dock in London. It is the latest in a line of surveys that demonstrate people’s increasing willingness to transition towards an EV-based future.

Last week, edie reported that the majority of London taxi drivers (80%) were interested in switching too new, ultra-low emission cabs, according to a survey by the London Taxi Company. Meanwhile, HPL Motors rescently released a separate study which suggested that one in four UK citizens would sell their vehicle in favour of signing up to a driverless car subscription service.

The survey also follows an announcement from the Renault-Nissan Alliance reported that it had sold 350,000 EVs since the release of the Nissan LEAF in December 2010.

edie timeline: The EV transition, in 12 months…

Take a look through the timeline below to read all of the key automotive industry updates and announcements over the past 12 months.

 

Alex Baldwin

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