Children’s pester power a driving force behind electric car choice, finds Peugeot

Children are a driving force behind the decision to switch to electric vehicles, the UK arm of French car maker Peugeot has found.

More than two-thirds of 1,250 children surveyed by the car maker said they think electric cars and plug-in hybrids (PHEV) are better for the planet, and more than half of the parents of the children surveyed said their offspring would like to see them buy an electric car.

And it’s not solely children’s attitudes towards the planet and cleaning up transport that the survey uncovered.

Pester power – when kids try to get their parents to buy something, or change their behaviour – might usually be associated with nagging for lollies at the checkout, but in this case it could be working towards positive change instead.

The survey found that out of all the children, aged seven to twelve, more than half had tried to get their parents to be more environmentally friendly, by recycling, reusing and even switching to an battery electric car or PHEV.

Parents are also taking into account their children’s opinions or concerns when making major purchasing decisions, the survey found.

A massive 72.2% of children said they were consulted on major purchasing decisions such as buy cars.

“It’s great to see the next generation of car buyers so interested in full electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, and to know that they understand the positive impact these vehicles have on the environment,” said David Peel, Managing Director of Peugeot UK, in a statement.

“With this in mind, it’s really positive to see through our research how influential children are in the purchase decisions their parents make.”

In reporting the survey findings, Peugeot took the opportunity to highlight its recent unveiling of the new PHEV 3008. Peugeot also has PHEV versions of the 508 in both fastback and wagon formats.

The French car maker did not however mention the findings of clean transport lobby group Tranport & Environment which recently reported PHEVs are often less environmentally friendly than car makers make them out to be, because of manufacturer’s driving parameters or the way they are driven.

Peugeot also has two all-electric models, the e-2008 and e-208, both of which could be sold in Australia.

According to Motoring, the recently appointed general manager of Peugeot Citroen Australia, Kate Gillis, said that the all-electric 208 or 208 GTi hot hatch could be slated for Australia, and that a decision would be made by the end of 2020.

Gillis says that part of her role will be to introduce younger buyers to the Peugeot brand, sales of which have suffered along with the entire auto market in Australia (electric and electrified vehicles being the only powertrains on the increase, albeit from a low base).