• by Karl Greenberg , November 9, 2010

Toyota did it first, and so did Honda, and Ford. Now it's General Motors' and Nissan's turn. Next up, Mitsubishi, Chrysler, Hyundai. All are now or will soon be launching electric, or electric/hybrid vehicles. That means a sub rosa branding battle is brewing over which is the most future-oriented brand.

Aegis Group-owned research firm Synovate says GM is making strides in that direction. The company does a weekly survey of a group of about 1,000 consumers. In the latest survey the firm asked this question:

"Assume that you entered a contest and won the grand prize, where you got to pick between two new vehicles: Chevrolet Volt or Hummer H3. Keep in mind that the retail price for both vehicles is about the same. Which vehicle would you choose as your grand prize?"

With the government rebate for the Volt, the car comes in at around $10,000 less than the H3. Even so, most of the respondents chose the Volt, a car that GM hopes embodies its life force after having emerged from the chrysalis of bankruptcy: GM as a forward-looking maker of fuel-sipping vehicles. It is a company almost unrecognizably different from the former eight-brand giant that made truck-based SUVs -- the ultimate expression of which was the Hummer brand, which GM spun off in 2008.

In the survey, 55% of those polled said they would choose Volt, and only 30% said H3. Fifteen percent, incidentally, said "no" to both.

Stephen Popiel, SVP for Synovate Motoresearch, the company's automotive research specialist group, says it is important that GM generates this level of interest in the vehicle and not strictly for Volt's sales potential. "For manufacturers like Nissan, GM, Hyundai and soon Mitsubishi, it's both about building the brand in consumers' eyes and it is positioning themselves as an environmental alternative to Toyota, which has dominated the segment with Prius."

He says GM is still seen as a "traditional" company and much less as an environmentally friendly company. "Honda and Toyota lead in this respect, and Ford has actually, over the last year, really improved consumer perception on this measure. This is really important because most vehicles are on parity nowadays. Someone always wins J.D. Power's horse race, but that's what it is. Here is another way for them to differentiate themselves in the minds of consumers."

Since Synovate started tracking consumer sentiment toward alternative-fuel vehicles, consideration for electric vehicles (both battery electric and plug-in hybrid) has risen from 24% in December 2006 to 40% in February of this year, per the firm. But the results also show that 45% of those surveyed are not interested in a plug-in hybrid like the Volt, even when it is free. Synovate data show that while 28% of consumers would consider a gasoline-electric hybrid, in reality only about 6% actually buy one.

Another surprise for those who might think that youth always favors the new, the 18-24 cohort was almost twice as likely (43%) to select the Hummer H3 as those 55 and older (22%). "I think we have two things happening," says Popiel. "The older people are more in tune with the fact that GM no longer makes the Hummer, and the other bit is the whole excitement factor. When you are younger, you have fewer demands on you."

He says the take rate for Volt as well as the plug-in Prius will be relatively solid for the simple reason that they both have a gasoline engine, and that gives the Volt at least a 300-mile range. "The bigger concern is with a vehicle like Nissan Leaf, which is pure electric, goes 100 miles on a charge and needs five to six hours to recharge," he says.

"What we have here is -- in part -- the public's desire to seem environmentally aware, so when they speak with their hearts rather than wallets, they will choose the environmentally friendly car. But when push comes to shove, people will still gravitate toward the best value."