Project EVIE Blog

Google search electic vehicle...

The above image was captured this morning. There is nothing earth shattering about the suggested searches that Google currently recommends. Almost all of them are technical in nature, with “electric vehicle … tax credit” showing up as the 5^th one. Compare this with what Google generates when a user starts typing “hybrid vehicle…”

Google search "hybrid vehicle..."

The notable difference is the  inclusion of “hybrid vehicle … sales” to the list, as well as the top billing for searches related to the tax credit. A comparison between the two searches seems to support what most public opinions polls have discovered: hybrid vehicles have entered the mainstream market; whereas EVs are still shrouded in a cloud of technical inquires, with limited interest in actual purchases.

Both searches also highlight the prominent role that hobbyists play in the hybrid and EV communities, an indication of the grassroots, bottom-up push that has continued to advocate for the technologies.

Also of curiosity is the propensity of people searching for “hybrid vehicle…training.” Are they really that different from “normal” vehicles?!?