One in Three U.S. Car Buyers into Electric Cars

A new survey by Better Place, the folks who’ve so far brought electric cars to the streets of Israel, Denmark, and Australia says that nearly one in three U.S. poll respondents were interested in buying an electric car as their next vehicle. A total of 8,000 people in five countries were polled by Better Place; here’s a breakdown of how many drivers in each country are considering buying an EV:

• Israel, 57%
• Denmark, 40%
• Australia, 39%
• Canada, 35%
• U.S., 30%

A couple of notes to the survey: The Canadian numbers come only from the greater Toronto area, so it doesn’t include the opinions of drivers in, say, the sparsely populated province of Alberta. Also, the Israelis must really like their Better Place electric car program, because 28% of them said they’d consider only an electric car for their next vehicle — no petrol allowed.

The survey found that interest in electric vehicles ranged across economic and generational lines in all the countries. The number-one reason for U.S. driver’s interest in an EV? Concern about dependence on foreign oil. That was followed by a near-tie between concerns about terrorism and climate change.

What about you? Would you be like Bob Dylan in the Sixties and go electric? Let us know in the comments.