Pricey gas drives shoppers to fuel efficiency
DETROIT (Reuters) - Pricey gasoline drives U.S. car buyers
to more fuel-efficient vehicles, according to a study by
industry tracking service Edmunds.com released on Wednesday.
Shoppers looking at cars and light trucks become more
sensitive when prices rise above an average national price of
$2.80 a gallon, according to Edmunds.com Executive Director
David Tompkins, who called that level a “psychological turning
point for consumers.”
The average U.S. retail price for gasoline stands at $2.98
a gallon, the Energy Information Administration said on Monday
in its weekly survey of service stations. While that was the
first time below $3 a gallon in five weeks, it was still 81
cents higher than a year ago.
High gas prices is a major reason for the declining sales
of many large sports-utility vehicles and pickup trucks, and
weak consumer confidence due to the credit market crunch and
slumping housing sector have depressed U.S. auto sales.
In a separate survey released on Wednesday by the
Massachusetts-based Civil Society Institute think tank and its
40MPG.org project that pushes for more fuel-efficient vehicles,
more than half of Americans said they would reduce holiday
travel and personal spending if gas prices hit $4 a gallon this
year.
More than half also cited fuel prices as the top economic
worry this year, according to the institute’s study.
The U.S. Energy Department is forecasting high crude oil
costs will push gas prices to a record $3.50 this spring when
driving normally increases, and 71 percent of those surveyed by
the institute expect prices to hit $4 this summer.
Edmunds.com found if gas hits $4 a gallon, consumer
interest in hybrid-powered vehicles would jump five-fold.
Under that scenario, interest in traditional mid-sized
SUVs, large SUVs and large trucks would decline at rates of 35
percent, 34 percent and 26 percent, respectively, according to
the study. Continued…
