Alastair Sloane: Americans stick to their gas-guzzling Yank tanks

Photo / Glenn Taylor

The price of fuel in the US has reached levels not seen since 2008, when the global recession bit deep.

But unlike in 2008, consumers in the US are not clamouring to buy smaller, fuel-efficient vehicles.

Not according to a study of buyer behaviour by Los Angeles consultant firm AutoPacific.

"Small car and hybrid consideration is not tracking anywhere near the rate of the price of fuel as it did in 2008," said AutoPacific president George Peterson.

Only 21 per cent of car owners would seriously consider a hybrid or a smaller car, the study showed.

That is down from 34 per cent when US fuel prices peaked in 2008. The results are based on an AutoPacific survey of 68,000 consumers.

Peterson described the summer 2008 fuel price spike as a "panic". Consumers rushed to buy hybrids like the Toyota Prius and traded in big Chevrolet Suburbans for smaller wagons with better fuel economy.

Peterson told US Automotive News that consumers are aware fuel prices plunged later that year.

Many also cited improvements in fuel economy since then, allowing them to stick with larger vehicles that suited their lifestyles.

AutoPacific data also shows that increased interest in smaller cars has more to do with higher-performance engines and increased content than the need for better fuel economy.

Still, compact and hybrid vehicles are expected to grow as a segment.

Hybrid vehicles, including mild hybrids, will grow in the US from 300,000 units this year to 1.3 million units in 2016, says AutoPacific.

But that growth also reflects that hybrid systems will become ubiquitous.

This consumer sentiment may also prevent electric vehicles from gaining more of a presence, said AutoPacific consultant Ed Kim.

"We're seeing tech enthusiasts, green enthusiasts, and people interested in EVs not because they are saving money," Kim said, "but because they are enthusiastic about the technology."