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For (plugin) Hybrid Drivers, a Gas Pump Allergy?
The surprising finding, however, was that drivers of the Volt, a hybrid that runs on electricity or conventional fuel, suffer from “gas anxiety,” or a fear of having to visit a filling station. Volt drivers even end up charging more often than drivers of the Leaf, which runs only on electric battery power.
According to the findings, a typical Leaf driver plugs in one to 1.1 times a day, whereas the average Volt driver plugs in about 1.5 times a day.
Volt drivers also plug in when away from home 21 percent of the time, as opposed to Leaf drivers, who charge away from home only 11 percent of the time.
“We never anticipated that a 40-mile-electric-range plug-in hybrid would charge more than a 100 percent electric car,” Mr. Read said. “You have that gas engine that you’re paying an extra premium for for a reason.”
Whether the motivation is economic, environmental or something else is not yet clear, but hybrid drivers are trying to maximize their use of electricity, perhaps in part because ECOtality had not yet begun collecting access fees for charging away from home when most of the data, covering use through the second quarter of this year, was gathered.
Over all, both groups tend to visit the stores three times as often and spend twice as much time as average customers, Mr. Read said. Precisely why is unclear. But the E.V. drivers plug in at the stores when their batteries are at a higher capacity than when they plug in at home, suggesting that they are staying in the stores longer than they need to just to pick up a charge.
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/18/for-hybrid-drivers-a-gas-pump-allergy/
According to the findings, a typical Leaf driver plugs in one to 1.1 times a day, whereas the average Volt driver plugs in about 1.5 times a day.
Volt drivers also plug in when away from home 21 percent of the time, as opposed to Leaf drivers, who charge away from home only 11 percent of the time.
“We never anticipated that a 40-mile-electric-range plug-in hybrid would charge more than a 100 percent electric car,” Mr. Read said. “You have that gas engine that you’re paying an extra premium for for a reason.”
Whether the motivation is economic, environmental or something else is not yet clear, but hybrid drivers are trying to maximize their use of electricity, perhaps in part because ECOtality had not yet begun collecting access fees for charging away from home when most of the data, covering use through the second quarter of this year, was gathered.
Over all, both groups tend to visit the stores three times as often and spend twice as much time as average customers, Mr. Read said. Precisely why is unclear. But the E.V. drivers plug in at the stores when their batteries are at a higher capacity than when they plug in at home, suggesting that they are staying in the stores longer than they need to just to pick up a charge.
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/18/for-hybrid-drivers-a-gas-pump-allergy/
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