Forsa survey: Petrol cars are becoming more popular again, while electric cars are losing support

The ongoing debate about phasing out combustion engines and continuing operations with e-fuels apparently has an impact on German drivers: According to a recent Forsa survey commissioned by Targo Bank, reported by Spiegel Online, by far the most respondents would prefer to buy a gasoline car, an increase from 22 to a whopping 30 percent compared to the survey a year earlier. Hybrid vehicles are losing more significantly, coming in at 18 percent (-4%), but also battery-electric models, which only 16 percent of respondents favor (-1%). Diesel vehicles have been continuously losing approval since 2019 and are now at ten percent, while fuel cell models stand at six percent.

Moreover, due to the ongoing political discussions, doubts about the environmental friendliness of electric cars are increasing, and their image is correspondingly declining. This trend has been observed since 2016, and currently, only 39 percent of respondents consider electric cars generally more environmentally friendly than combustion engines, a sharp drop from last year (-5% to 2022). Respondents are particularly skeptical about the environmental harm of batteries (57%), the limited lifecycle (49%), and above all, the insufficient charging infrastructure (63%), the purchase price (64%), and the supposedly low range (66%).

As Spiegel Online adds, a clear majority of Germans (68%) recently also rejected the planned phase-out of combustion engines or the zero-emission target for 2035. Only 28 percent supported the idea of allowing no new vehicles with combustion engines from 2035 onwards. An important motivation for this vote seems to be the desire to protect Germany as an automotive hub.