Ernst and Young’s survey covered the globe with China, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Japan as its respondents. For this survey, Young asked 1,000 vehicle owners about their willingness to purchase an alternative fuel vehicle within the next three years.

These surveys were done to help out Ernst and Young’s powertrain initiatives. The company plans to focus on business opportunities and issues which companies may face due to the development of eco-friendly alternative transportation solutions. The survey was also specifically designed to measure consumers’ interest and certain decision factors regarding the purchase of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids.

The survey also revealed important factors which displayed China’s purchasing attitude. For one, the lead factor that influences their purchase is saving money. This was followed by the car’s environmental impact (86%), the safety features (69%) and government incentives (60%). All seven countries who participated in the survey chose to buy EVs because of fuel saving opportunities.

According to the survey, consumers were also concerned about several things regarding the EV’s power supply (they’re not sports cars, are they?). The vehicle’s driving range was the top concern in China (73%), followed by the visibility of charging stations (69%), and the serviceability and reliability of the vehicle (64%) tied with safety (also at 64%).

The Obama government has cleared a path to take so the goals will be achieved to meet the deadline. The plan will require carmakers to improve the fuel economy of their fleet by as much as 5% every year, just like what is being done in several states and in California. The stricter government requirements on fuel mileage standardize the rule from the east coast to the west coast.

The target for the 2012 to 2015 models was not yet clear for the auto makers until the suggested framework came out. The 5% increase with the 2011 models translates to 27.3 mpg on average according to the EPA and the Transportation Department.

The levels of improvement for the production cars of 2012 to 2016 will be leveled up from 33.6mpg to approximately 38 mpg. Light trucks are expected to have fuel mileage figures jump to 28.33 from 25.0 mpg.

The 2016 models will also need to meet the emission standards that will be in effect. The law dictates that the average carbon dioxide emission should have a combined figure of 250 grams per mile.

Consumers are on a win-win situation, aside from the cleaner air, they can get as much as $3000 savings in fuel spending over the expected years of their vehicles. According to government studies, it will take three years for consumers to recover the higher cost of spending for the new vehicles that will meet the stricter fuel economy and emission standards.

The total economy of the U.S. is also looking at an equivalent savings of taking about 58 million cars off their roads. The air will also be 900 metric tons of emissions cleaner.