Kiwi drivers bet on fuel efficiency over engine power

The vast majority of consumers from New Zealand say that fuel efficiency is more important than power when buying a vehicle, according to a new survey.

When asked the reasons for prioritising fuel efficiency, 85 percent of respondents from New Zealand cited the desire to save money. Other top reasons included concern about high fuel prices (68%) and an interest in being more environmentally friendly (43%).

That is just one conclusion of a survey of more than 9,500 drivers in 11 markets across the Asia Pacific region, conducted on behalf of Ford Motor Company in June 2016.

“We conducted this survey to learn more about what consumers’ attitudes are towards fuel efficiency when they are shopping for a new car,” said Kevin Tallio, chief engineer, Engine Engineering, Ford Asia Pacific

Many New Zealanders said they already apply tactics to save at the pump, such as waiting for lower fuel prices to top up (45%). Forty two percent say that they always use a coupon when filling up, and 34% say that they only go to fuel stations where they get points for filling up. Only one in three says that they fill up whenever, regardless of price.