What do consumers know about hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles? How do they value them? Do consumers’ ideas and values match those of advocates and technology and policy experts? To bring consumers into the design of policies and technologies that would affect their lives and technologies and policies whose success in turn depends on consumers’ acceptance and support, we report results from a series of research projects with American households. Based on results of interviews with PHEV pioneers, a nationally-representative internet-based survey of new car buying households, and data from households participating in month-long PHEV trials, we identify the relative importance of “using electricity” and “saving gasoline” has motivating ideas to different groups of people as well as the ramifications for PHEV designs and policies to promote a long-term trajectory of market introduction and energy and climate goals.
