SAN DIEGO--August 27, 2013: Strategic Vision's New Vehicle Experience Study (NVES), using a rapidly growing sample of Tesla buyers, finds interesting differences between Tesla owners and the rest of the electric vehicle market. Tesla has 29% fewer female owners compared to the average luxury buyer, 10% fewer than the electric vehicle buyer and at least 14% fewer than competitive performance vehicles like the Mercedes CLS-Class and BMW 5 Series. Creating complete buyer experience profiles, NVES gathers over 400 variables to provide comprehensive views of the new vehicle driver, to include the electric vehicle owner/shopper. Results are used to provide quantifiable explanations about demographic differences (like gender buying trends), shopping behavior strategies, sales explanation and even detailed answers to such questions as why Tesla buyers express a "Love" for their Overall Vehicle Experience at a 20% higher rate than the average electric vehicle owner.
Tesla owners' emphasis on "Performance-Electric" sets them apart from other EV buyers. While most EV owners focus on their vehicle's Performance and Environmental Friendliness/Fuel Economy, Tesla owners rank Performance -- particularly "Handling and Cornering" -- as their top priority at 90%. By comparison, Fuel Economy is the top priority for Volt, Leaf and Prius Plug-In owners (97%, 94% and 98%, respectively). However, one area that most electric vehicle owners have in common is their consideration of the Chevrolet Volt during their shopping process. Even if they've purchased another vehicle, they at least shop the Volt.
While the field of electric vehicles (EVs) has grown with the Chevrolet Volt, Nissan Leaf and the Toyota Prius Plug-In, Tesla buyers display unique differences. NVES shows that Tesla owners have double the average household income of other EV owners ($293,200). As a result, they are more likely to be adding a Tesla to their household fleet (51%) rather than replacing a vehicle with its purchase. Compared to the 16% average rate of vehicle disposal within the luxury market, Tesla vehicles are adding to households at three times the typical rate. When new Tesla buyers dispose of a vehicle, they're often coming from a Toyota Prius, Lexus SC, BMW M3, BMW 5 Series or a Mercedes E350.
The profile of the EV buyer will continue to evolve as manufacturers strive to meet consumer demands and government regulations. Strategic Vision's NVES--with annual samples of about 450,000 new vehicle buyers--records these movements in order to equip both consumers and automakers with information that helps make knowledgeable and actionable decisions.
