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U.S. Department of Energy Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Fact #494: November 5, 2007
European Priorities When Buying a New Car

Half of the respondents in a European survey listed fuel consumption as a priority when buying a new car. The survey was performed in March and April 2007 and included respondents from twelve European countries. Safety, price and reliability were named by more than half of the respondents as a priority.

Question: Which are your priorities when buying a new car?
Graph showing responses to a European survey when consumers were asked what their priorities were when purchasing a new car. Half of the respondents said that fuel consumption was a priority. For more detailed information, see the table below.

Supporting Information

Q: Which are your priorities when buying a new car?
  Share of European
Respondents
Safety 73.1%
Price 63.7%
Reliability 57.8%
Fuel Consumption 49.7%
Comfort 36.9%
Design 18.3%
Size 17.9%
Exhaust Gas 15.6%
Color 3.4%

Source: Cooperative Vehicle-Infrastructure Systems, Stakeholder utility, data privacy and usability analysis and recommendations for operational guarantees and system safeguards: Europe, July 2007.
Respondents were surveyed in March/April 2007. N=7,687. European countries represented in the survey were: Norway, Croatia, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany, The Netherlands, France Portugal, Belgium, Spain, Austria and Italy.

 

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