Seventy-six per cent of 18 – 34-year-olds (so called millennials) consider driving an eco-friendly car as the best choice to be more environmentally friendly, according to a Nissan European study investigating their attitudes towards electric and hybrid vehicles.

Revealed by Gareth Dunsmore, Nissan’s director of electric vehicles at FutureFest in London, the study looked at the views of 2,500 European millennials across the UK, France, Italy, Germany, and Spain.

The majority of millennials surveyed owned a car (77%).

Although they might not be driving electric vehicles now,  they are in the market for future driving technology with nearly two out of three likely to buy a hybrid car in the next 10 years, and over half saying they would buy an electric car in that time span.

The report showed that the environmental concerns of millennials aren’t smaller scale issues like recycling (24%) or overflowing landfills (14%), but global issues such as climate change (53%) and air pollution (42%).

To help solve these issues, they are willing to make bold changes such as switching to an energy provider dedicated to eco-friendly solutions (62%), or supporting brands that are committed to being more environmentally friendly (53%).

Dunsmore said: “We’ve always known that millennials are the challenger generation but our European study has also revealed that they’re the future ‘change-makers’ – willing to make drastic lifestyle choices to make a meaningful difference to the world they live in.

“It gives me immeasurable hope to see that millennials believe electric vehicles that are already on the road today, are part of the solution for a more sustainable future. As an industry we must work harder to engage the interests and needs of this group.”

Sarwant Singh, senior partner, Frost & Sullivan and member of Nissan’s intelligent motoring advisory board, said: “The millennial demographic surveyed here has the potential to be hugely influential in determining the future of transport and sustainability.

“We have consistently found in our own research that they are early adopters of new technology, much more environmentally friendly than previous generations and generally willing to make sacrifices and lifestyle changes in line with their personal values and beliefs.”

Nissan is the innovation partner of FutureFest 2016, an event run by innovation foundation Nesta.

Nissan launched its expert intelligent motoring advisory board in April 2016.

Led by Dunsmore, the board is focused on furthering the intelligent mobility debate beyond the automotive community in Europe. Its 12 members represent a range of companies and organisations including the European Climate Foundation, Frost & Sullivan and Ecotricity.