Even with government subsidies, electric vehicles are still too expensive to get most consumers to consider buying, finds a new study by J.D. Powers & Associates.

Of the consumers considering an EV as their next primary vehicle, only 11 percent list environmental concerns as a leading reason to buy, while 45 percent name the cost-savings benefit of an all-electric powertrain as their key reason to buy an EV. […]

Neal Oddes, senior director of the green practice at J.D. Power and Associates, said “there still is a disconnect between the reality of the cost of an EV and the cost savings that consumers want to achieve.”

Compared with sales prices for a similar gasoline-powered vehicle, the study finds that owners of electric vehicles pay a premium of $10,000, on average, for their vehicle, while plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) owners pay a $16,000 premium, on average.

Based on annual fuel savings it would take an average of six and a half years for EV owners to recoup the $10,000 premium they paid at the point of purchase, while the payoff point for PHEV ownership is 11 years. Again, these payback rates are based on participant-reported averages.

“The payback period is longer than most consumers keep their vehicle,” said Oddes. [HybridCars.com, November 15]

Good thing the auto industry is free to respond to consumer demand instead of worrying about political things like what kind of cars the Obama administration thinks it should build.