What’s what? Volkswagen’s attempt to lessen the confusion; Let’s go, Betsy

EVERY week we get more evidence of people being seriously confused by what drives their car.

With a view to additionally helping to reduce that, Volkswagen here has rolled out a helpful CarExplainer. ie.

I must say, some marketing elements aside, it is a really constructive piece of work.

It stems from a survey of drivers which found that: :: 67pc incorrectly believe a diesel car emits more CO2 than an equivalent petrol; :: Nearly 33pc mistakenly think a full hybrid has no emissions;

:: 44pc believe electric cars produce some emissions while driving;

:: 70pc+ believe there are fewer than 500 charge points in Ireland.

And so they launched CarExplainer.ie.

Interesting that they think much of the drop in new-car registrations this year (until the coronavirus that is) was down to the widespread confusion about which type of car to choose.

According to Volkswagen’s head of marketing, Mark McGrath, people are confused about the differences between the engine technology – “be it petrol, diesel, hybrid, plug-in hybrid or electric... they also don’t know which technology suits their needs”.

The site clearly delineates the differences between petrol, diesel, hybrid, plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and electric vehicles (BEV).

Importantly, it asserts what may best suit your requirements.

Crucially it also has data on fuel consumption, emissions and FAQ.

:: ‘Betsy’ is the most popular car nickname for Irish drivers.

It is the second successive year for it to top the league.

According to the DoneDeal survey ‘Bessie’ and ‘The Bus’ come second and third respectively.