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Electric Vehicle Stereotypes Essay

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Public attitudes and preferences toward electrically powered vehicles are considered to be developing rapidly in Canada. The vast majority of Canadians (almost nine in ten) of either heard or seen something about vehicles powered fully or in part by electricity, known to consumers as electric vehicles or hybrids Pollution Probe (2009). According to a study by Pollution Probe “awareness goes beyond provinces and into demographic subgroups” which suggests that the focus has been moved away from awareness rates per country, state or province but now into age, gender or economic class. In terms of gender 88 percent of men and 85 percent of women within Canada are familiar with electric vehicles. They own one, know someone with one, know the types of electric cars or have been thinking about purchasing an electric vehicle. Many studies describe gender difference in travel behavior based on things such as commute choices, carpooling, automobile choice and safe driving practices. However when it comes to electric vehicles which is closely linked to caring for the …show more content…

Women quickly grew to distrust the estimated range calculator on cars like the Leaf, and thus only used the EVs when they had two or three times the estimated range needed to run their errands. Yet women are in the minority when it comes to plug-in car purchases. Many of these women drivers developed “range anxiety”. In an article titled “Range Anxiety” Ben Schott (2009) describes range anxiety as fear that a vehicle has insufficient range to reach its destination and would thus strand the vehicle’s occupants. In California – probably the most green-car-friendly state – women account for only 29 percent of Nissan LEAF, 24 percent of Chevrolet Volt, and 16 percent of Tesla Model S purchases and

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