Suck it, Musk — kids are the reason we’re buying more EVs

According to a survey carried out by the UK branch of French carmaker Peugeot, children appear to be a key driving force in the switch to electric vehicles (EVs).

Peugeot surveyed 1,250 children, aged between seven and 12 years old, and their parents or guardians and 54.2% of the little whipper-snappers said they’ve tried to get their parents to be more environmentally aware.

That includes getting their elders to recycle, reuse, and even switch to an electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle, AM Online reports.

Perhaps it’s the Greta Thunberg effect, but over two-thirds of children in the study say they have started caring more for the environment recently. Around 67% of them believe electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles are good for the environment.

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The kids aren’t hamming up their involvement in car purchase decisions for the survey either. Just over 55% of the parents in the survey said their children have nudged them towards buying an electric vehicle.

What’s more, 72% children in the survey said that they were consulted or involved in the purchases their parents make, including buying a car and where to go on holiday.

It’s hard to say how seriously the children are being consulted. I doubt the youngsters of a family are being summoned and consulted with von Trapp-esque rigor, but buying a car is a decision which affects the whole family, just like going on holiday.

When I think back to my own experiences, I definitely remember a lot of hours as a child spent car shopping, and being asked which cars I liked the most. How seriously my parents took my responses is another question entirely — they have declined to comment on this story.

One thing is for sure, though. Despite being young, children seem to have their minds focussed on how their purchase decisions affect the environment. A very good thing, indeed.

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