Accent Planet: Survey Says Gen Ys want Hybrids: Where's our Hybr...

Accent Planet: Survey Says Gen Ys want Hybrids: Where's our Hybr...

For years we have been promised and teased with the prospect of a Hyundai/KIA Premium Hybrid Small Car using a 1.6 L Displacement powertrain attached to an Electric Motor.
In the past Hyundai/KIA experimented with an Accent Hybrid- a popular subcompact for Gen Ys, or those born from 1980-1993.
The First experimental Accent Hybrids used the Classic Hyundai 1.6L Alpha engine attached to a small electric motor, and a large clunky wet nickel hydride battery. These Accents were given to the South Korean government for testing, but they were never mass produced. However, a few years back Hyundai debuted a small car Hybrid system that was centuries more advanced using a lithium polymer battery powering a 25 KW electric generator attached to a 1.6L GDI (Gas Direct Injection Engine) with promises of 106 MPG. Hyundai plans to bring out such a car in 2013 for Gen Y, and this car could possibly be the Next Gen Elantra 5 door Hatchback, set to undercut the Lexus CT Hybrid by thousands, or a refreshed Accent 5 door that could undercut Toyota's Prius C small car. We can't wait, what about you?Gen Y Consumers Favor Hybrids, Connected Vehicles, Survey ShowsKeith Naughton BloombergConsumers ages 19 to 31, known as Generation Y, prefer hybrids and connected cars, which may define the automobiles of the future, according to a new study. In a global survey of consumers, 57 percent of this young cohort preferred an “electrified vehicle,” Deloitte LLP, which conducted the study, said today in a statement. Dashboard technology was the most important part of an automobile’s interior to 59 percent of Gen Y respondents, with 73 percent preferring touch-screen controls, Deloitte said. “This could be a tipping point for moving electrified vehicles mainstream in the U.S.,” said Craig Giffi, Deloitte vice chairman and automotive practice leader. “The motivation is heavily based on economics, lowering their fuel costs. What’s driving them to hybrids and electrified vehicles is not so much saving the planet as they want to save their pocketbook.” Automakers and other marketers are keen to crack the code on selling to Gen Y, a group of about 80 million consumers in the U.S. that is almost as large as the Baby Boomer generation born after World War II. Gen Y consumers will purchase one in four new automobiles sold in the U.S. this year and 40 percent of the vehicles sold in the next 10 years, Deloitte said. For its annual Gen Y survey, Deloitte polled 1,500 Gen Y, Gen X and Baby Boomer consumers in the U.S., 250 Gen Y consumers in China and 300 Gen Y consumers in Western Europe. The study was conducted in September and October 2011, the researcher said.