Fuel efficiency to become most important issue for car buyers?

A study by KPMG cited by BBC claims that most car industry executives believe that fuel efficiency is quickly becoming the most important concern for car buyers. "The North American consumer seems to be waking up to some consciousness with regard to fuel pricing, and those designs are typically the heaviest and least fuel efficient," Motor industry analyst Mark Fulthorpe, of CSM Worldwide stated.

"Increasingly they are looking at newer, lighter designs particularly from the Japanese and Korean manufacturers. We also see that in Europe as well."

If gas prices continue their decline, it seems hard to believe that fuel economy will become the dominant issue for car buyers. Still, such beliefs should keep investments in hybrid cars and other fuel efficient technologies a top priority for automakers.