More than three quarters of millennials see using a green car as the single biggest action to reduce their environmental impact according to a new survey from Nissan. Results said that 76 per cent of the generation group – aged 18 to 34 – saw eco-friendly cars as the transport of choice going forward.
More than 50 per cent of those questioned would also consider buying an electric car, or own one already. The survey involved 2,500 millennials across the UK, France, Italy, Germany, and Spain.
According to Nissan’s findings, which were presented at the company’s FutureFest event in London, the environmental concerns topping the agenda were climate change and air pollution. As such, wholesale changes in lifestyle were seen as ideal ways to combat these problems, with a switch to green motoring topping the bill.
Other considerations included switching energy providers to dedicated eco-friendly companies, and only buying products from brands that are committed to improving the environment.
Gareth Dunsmore, Director of Electric Vehicles at Nissan Europe, said: “We’ve always known that millennials are the challenger generation but our European study has also revealed that they’re the future ‘change-makers’ – willing to make drastic lifestyle choices to make a meaningful difference to the world they live in.
“It gives me immeasurable hope to see that millennials believe electric vehicles, such as the Nissan Leaf and e-NV200 that are already on the road today, are part of the solution for a more sustainable future. As an industry we must work harder to engage the interests and needs of this group.”
Sarwant Singh, Senior Partner at Frost & Sullivan and member of Nissan’s Intelligent Motoring Advisory Board, said: “The millennial demographic surveyed here has the potential to be hugely influential in determining the future of transport and sustainability.
“We have consistently found in our own research that they are early adopters of new technology, much more environmentally friendly than previous generations and generally willing to make sacrifices and lifestyle changes in line with their personal values and beliefs.”
Perhaps one of the most surprising results to come out of the survey is that the majority of millennials questioned owned a car (77 percent). It might well be the last generation to see such high levels of ownership as many market analysis experts predict increased car sharing and subscription services, rather than conventional car ownership models.
Although they might not be driving electric vehicles now, they are in the market for future driving technology with nearly two out of three likely to buy a hybrid car in the next 10 years, and over half saying they would buy an electric car in that time span.
