NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – Earlier this week at the first-ever Fuels Institute Annual Meeting and Fuels Summit a diverse group of panelists shared their viewpoints and ideas on how to satisfy both environmental protection and consumer interests in the transportation market.

Yesterday, NACS Daily covered the environmental regulation aspect of the conversation and today we share insights on how consumer behavior affects market developments.

Panelist Avery Ash of AAA shared how that organization uses a three-pronged approach — understand, educate, support — to help consumers make informed purchasing decisions about alternative fuel vehicles through unbiased information and research. Ash noted that consumer interest in electric vehicles (EVs) is growing, but “range anxiety” is still a purchasing factor, in terms of charging locations and availability.

One consumer trend noted by panelists is the shift seen as gas prices fluctuate. Jessica Caldwell of Edmunds.com talked about consumer purchasing decisions, noting that in 2008, huge spikes in gas prices led to more interest in hybrids, with consumers also trading in bigger SUVs for more fuel-efficient vehicles. With today’s declining gas prices, we’re now seeing a bit of the reverse. October 2014 light duty truck sales were been strong, outselling cars for 13 straight months, and compact SUVs earned their highest market share ever in October (12.4%).

However, green may still be the new black, as performance enthusiasts are gravitating toward vehicles such as the Tesla Model S, which has ranked as one of the top electric drive vehicle searches at Edmunds.com since May 2013. Caldwell suggested that the Tesla in particular appears to be a “status symbol” among the affluent. 

Rob Green at Penn Schoen Berland, a market research firm that NACS commissions to produce the monthly consumer fuel surveys, provided insights from the past three months of consumer research. He said that demand for alternative fuel vehicles depends on consumers finding them more attractive than gas-powered options. Consumers also say that both fuel economy and cost are most important to them when buying a new car. With gas prices falling in recent weeks, Green questioned whether consumers would lose interest in alternative fuel vehicles. While it’s too early to see an impact, he said that most consumers are not sure where gas prices will go next and are not making any assumptions as to whether prices will go lower.

The Fuels Institute Annual Meeting and Fuels Summit is taking place this week in Newport Beach, California.  For more information about the event and the Fuels Institute, visit fuelsinstitute.org.