Fuel efficiency to become most important for consumers?
A study by KPMG cited by BBC claims that most car industry executives believe that fuel efficiency is quickly becoming the most important concern for car buyers. "The North American consumer seems to be waking up to some consciousness with regard to fuel pricing, and those designs are typically the heaviest and least fuel efficient," Motor industry analyst Mark Fulthorpe, of CSM Worldwide stated.
"Increasingly they are looking at newer, lighter designs particularly from the Japanese and Korean manufacturers. We also see that in Europe as well."
If gas prices continue their decline, it seems hard to believe that fuel economy will become the dominant issue for car buyers. Still, such beliefs should keep investments in hybrid cars and other fuel efficient technologies a top priority for automakers.
"Increasingly they are looking at newer, lighter designs particularly from the Japanese and Korean manufacturers. We also see that in Europe as well."
If gas prices continue their decline, it seems hard to believe that fuel economy will become the dominant issue for car buyers. Still, such beliefs should keep investments in hybrid cars and other fuel efficient technologies a top priority for automakers.
Labels: fuel economy
posted by Dahcredyns at
11:19 AM
1 Comments:
The article says that consumers won't make mileage their priority if gas prices keep going down.
True, but it is completely irrational to expect gas prices to continue their decline for long.
The evidence points overwhelmingly toward gas prices that increase faster than general price & wage inflation. Indefinitely.
Nobody can predict the future with certainty. But we should expect Asian oil demand to continue growing at a healthy clip.
The talking heads typically mention instability in the Middle East & Africa as a reason for higher oil prices, and that IS a factor.
But the bigger factor is CHINA's exploding consumption of oil -- both for industrial production and as gas for the burgeoning middle class's automobiles.
INDIA, too, is rapidly increasing its consumption of oil, though at less of a breakneck pace than China.
When you have 2.5 billion people rapidly increasing their use of oil products, what does that suggest for the mere 350 million of us in North America?
That we (USA and Canada) need to reduce our consumption of oil products substantially just to keep total worldwide demand stable. The same goes for air pollution: we North Americans need to reduce our air pollution just to offset all the new pollution being generated by China & India. No time to waste.
That's one reason why this Republican is buying a hybrid AND supporting nuclear power.....
(i wonder if i can mount a gun rack on a Prius? ;)
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