Turo survey shows the current economic climate favours hybrid, electric cars

The cost of inflation has not been kind to Canadians recently, especially those in the market for a new car.

However, despite concerns about high costs, some people are considering making the switch from a combustion engine vehicle to a hybrid, or even fully electric model.

Canada’s leading car-sharing marketplace Turo conducted its second annual Car Ownership Index in January 2023. The Car Ownership Index is a “benchmark study” used to analyze the current state of car ownership and usage in Canada.

The study found that 39 percent of those surveyed are less likely to buy or lease a vehicle as a result of the current increase in inflation rates.

Those that are in the market for a new vehicle, are looking at those that support non-traditional energy sources such as hybrid and electric vehicles.

And it’s not just a handful of Canadians that are interested.

Over half of Canadians surveyed are looking for an alternative to combustion vehicles, with 38 percent favouring hybrid models and 16 percent interested in buying or leasing fully electric vehicles (EVs.)

That’s 54 percent of the total survey that is considering making the jump.

Although 26 percent of those surveyed are interested due to the environmental benefits proposed by driving non-combustion vehicles, a much larger amount of those considering hybrid and EVs are doing so because of one main reason — the cost.

In fact, the survey showed that 38 percent of those interested in buying or leasing EVs are driven by a desire to save money on gas.

Unfortunately for those with growing interest, there are some lingering doubts about transitioning to an EV.

The primary concerns about buying or leasing an EV include the cost, the availability of charging stations, and the charging frequency for the vehicles.

The survey was conducted for Turo by Leger, the largest Canadian-owned market research and analytics company. It ran from January 9th to 18th, 2023 and consisted of a sample of 1,500 English or French-speaking Canadians that were 25 years of age or older.

Image credit: Turo

Source: Turo