Climate change perception, behaviour, and willingness to purchase alternative fuel vehicles: the missing dots
Main Article Content
Abstract
This paper explores the correlation between respondents concerns regarding climate change, their eagerness to adopt an AFV and their responsiveness to incentives. Seen as the solution for a cleaner mobility and greenhouse gas reduction in urban areas globally, alternative fuel vehicles (AFV) still own a modest market share in Europe. Among many reasons, the purchase price seems to be one of the most challenging to overcome. Incentives are considered a solution to mitigate the price barrier. The results of a survey carried out by the authors to 444 respondents led the authors to conclude that participants agree that AFVs contribute to tackle climate change. They also deduced that the vehicles price represents an offside for the lower-income households. Furthermore, the study revealed that the latter are less prone to buy an alternative fuel vehicle than higher-income families (59% against 80%). The authors also inferred that generally, households are more receptive to incentives or benefits based on up-front discounts or exemptions, directly impacting price and immediate savings, such as taxes exemption (value added tax and circulation tax), fuel discounts and purchase incentives. However, some differences were observed between income segments. For instance, the reduction or exemption of loan interests is among the most popular incentives for lower revenues, whilst higher revenues favour scrappage and non-financial incentives. Finally, in line with other studies, as upper incomes are less dependent on incentives and benefits to carry out the purchase, the authors put forward a differential and progressive approach for incentive instruments targeting lower revenues, allowing broader and equitable access to low carbon technology.
Article Details
Articles published in International Journal of Sustainable Energy Planning and Management are following the license Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License: Attribution - NonCommercial - NoDerivs (by-nc-nd). Further information about Creative Commons
Authors can archive post-print (final draft post-refereering) on personal websites or institutional repositories under these conditions:
- Publishers version cannot be stored elsewhere but on publishers homepage
- Published source must be acknowledged
- Must link to publisher version
References
Ferreira P., Soares I., Johannsen R.M., Østergaard P.A, (2020). Policies for new energy challenges. International Journal of Sustainable Energy Planning and Management, 26: 1-4, http://doi.org/10.5278/ijsepm.3552.
Pramono Hadi, S., & Al Hasibi, R. A. (2022). An Integrated Renewable Energy System for the Supply of Electricity and Hydrogen Energy for Road Transportation Which Minimizes Greenhouse Gas Emissions. International Journal of Sustainable Energy Planning and Management, 35, 65–82, https://doi.org/10.54337/ijsepm.7039.
Schwirplies C., (2018). Citizens' Acceptance of Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation: A Survey in China, Germany, and the U.S.. Ecological Economics, Volume 145, Pages 308-322, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2017.11.003.
Wu J., Liao H., Wang J.-W., Chen T., (2019). The role of environmental concern in the public acceptance of autonomous electric vehicles: A survey from China. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, Volume 60, Pages 37-46, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2018.09.029.
Allan C., Jaffe A. B., Sin I., (2014). Diffusion of Green Technology: A Survey. Motu Working Paper No. 14-04, Available at http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2422682.
Adepoju, A. O., & Akinwale, Y. O. (2019). Factors influencing willingness to adopt renewable energy technologies among micro and small enterprises in Lagos State Nigeria. International Journal of Sustainable Energy Planning and Management, 19, 69–82, https://doi.org/10.5278/ijsepm.2019.19.7.
Niles M.T., Brown M., Dynes R., (2016). Farmer’s intended and actual adoption of climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies. Climatic Change 135, 277–295, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-015-1558-0.
Pillai A., Curtis J., Tovar Reaños M. A., (2022). Spatial scenarios of potential electric vehicle adopters in Ireland. Case Studies on Transport Policy. Volume 10, Issue 1, Pages 93-104, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cstp.2021.11.008.
Shin J., Bhat C. R., You D., Garikapati V. M., Pendyala R. M., (2015). Consumer preferences and willingness to pay for advanced vehicle technology options and fuel types. Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, Volume 60, Pages 511-524, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trc.2015.10.003
Frondel M., Simora M., Sommer S., (2017). Risk Perception of Climate Change: Empirical Evidence for Germany. Ecological Economics, Volume 137, Pages 173-183, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2017.02.019.
Tu J.C. and Yang C., (2019). Key Factors Influencing Consumers’ Purchase of Electric Vehicles. Sustainability. 11, https://doi.org/10.3390/su11143863.
Hua J.W., Javaid A., Creutzig F., (2021). Leverage points for accelerating adoption of shared electric cars: Perceived benefits and environmental impact of NEVs. Energy Policy, Volume 155, 112349, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2021.112349.
He H., Wang C., Wang S., Ma F., Sun Q., Zhao X., (2021). Does environmental concern promote EV sales? Duopoly pricing analysis considering consumer heterogeneity. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Volume 91, 102695, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2021.102695.
Austmann L. and Vigne S.A., (2021). Does environmental awareness fuel the electric vehicle market? A Twitter keyword analysis. Energy Economics 101, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2021.105337.
Schlüter J. and Weyer J., (2019). Car sharing as a means to raise acceptance of electric vehicles: An empirical study on regime change in automobility.Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, Volume 60, 2019, Pages 185-201, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2018.09.005.
Javid, R.J., Nejat, A., (2017). A comprehensive model of regional electric vehicle adoption and penetration. Transport Policy,Volume 54, Pages 30-42, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2016.11.003.
Egnér F. and Trosvik L., (2018). Electric vehicle adoption in Sweden and the impact of local policy instruments, Energy Policy, Volume 121, Pages 584-596, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2018.06.040.
Guo, S., Kontou, E., (2021). Disparities and equity issues in electric vehicles rebate allocation. Energy Policy Volume 154, 112291, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2021.112291.
Brückmann, G., Willibald, F., Blanco, V., (2021). Battery Electric Vehicle adoption in regions without strong policies. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment,Volume 90, 102615, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2020.102615.
Mamun, A.A., Masud, M.M., Fazal, S.A., Rajennd Muniady, R., (2019). Green vehicle adoption behavior among low-income households: evidence from coastal Malaysia. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 26: 27305–27318. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-05908-2.
Wang, J., Matsumoto, S., (2022). Can subsidy programs lead consumers to select “greener” products? Evidence from the Eco-car program in Japan. Research in Transportation Economics, 91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.retrec.2021.101066.
Beak Y., Kayoung K., Kyuho M., Youngsang C., (2020). Is the environment‐friendly factor attractive to customers when purchasing electric vehicles? Evidence from South Korea. Business Strategy and the Environment. 29, https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2412.
Lévay, P.Z., Drossinos, Y., Thiel, C., (2017). The effect of fiscal incentives on market penetration of electric vehicles: A pairwise comparison of the total cost of ownership. Energy Policy, Volume 105, Pages 524-533, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2017.02.054.
Zarazua de Rubens, G., (2019). Who will buy electric vehicles after early adopters? Using machine learning to identify the electric vehicle mainstream market. Energy, Volume 172, Pages 243-254, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2019.01.114.
Dua, R., White, K., Lindland, R., (2019). Understanding the potential for battery electric vehicle adoption using large-scale consumer profile data. Energy Reports, Volume 5, Pages 515-524, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2019.04.013.
Rotaris L., Giansoldati M., Scorrano M., (2021). The slow uptake of electric cars in Italy and Slovenia. Evidence from a stated-preference survey and the role of knowledge and environmental awareness. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Volume 144, Pages 1-18, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2020.11.011.
Bas, J., Cirillo, C., Cherchi, E., (2021). Classification of potential electric vehicle purchasers: A machine learning approach. Technological Forecasting & Social Change 168, 120759, https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.techfore.2021.120759.
Secinaro, S., Calandra, D., Lanzalonga, F., Ferraris, A., (2022). Electric vehicles’ consumer behaviours: Mapping the field and providing a research agenda. Journal of Business Research, Volume 150, Pages 399-416, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.06.011.
Song, Y., Lia, G., Wangb, Q., Mengc, X., Wanga, H., (2020). Scenario analysis on subsidy policies for the uptake of electric vehicles industry in China. Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Volume 161, 104927, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.104927.
Hardman S., (2019). Understanding the impact of reoccurring and non-financial incentives on plug-in electric vehicle adoption – A review. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Volume 119, Pages 1-14, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2018.11.002.
Santos, G., Rembalski, S., (2021). Do electric vehicles need subsidies in the U.K.? Energy Policy, Volume 149, 111890, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2020.111890.
Li, L., Wang, Z., Chen, L., Wang, Z., (2020). Consumer preferences for battery electric vehicles: A choice experimental survey in China. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Volume 78, 102185, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2019.11.014.
Zimm, C., (2021). Improving the understanding of electric vehicle technology and policy diffusion across countries. Transport Policy, Volume 105, Pages 54-66, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2020.12.012.
Ingeborgrud, L., Ryghaug, M., (2019). The role of practical, cognitive and symbolic factors in the successful implementation of battery electric vehicles in Norway. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Volume 130, Pages 507-516, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2019.09.045.
Bjerkan K.Y., Nørbech T. E., Nordtømme M. E., (2016). Incentives for promoting Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) adoption in Norway. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Volume 43, Pages 169-180, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2015.12.002.
Samure K., Given L.M., (2008). Convenience Sample. The SAGE Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412963909.
Green S. B., (1991). How many subjects does it take to do a regression analysis? Multivariate Behavioural Research, 26, 499-510, http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/s15327906mbr2603_7.
Xing J., Leard B., Li S., (2021). What does an electric vehicle replace? Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Volume 107, 102432, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2021.102432.
Abdallah, S. M., Bressers, H., & Clancy, J. S. (2015). Energy Reforms in The Developing World: Sustainable Development Compromised?. International Journal of Sustainable Energy Planning and Management, 5, 41–56, https://doi.org/10.5278/ijsepm.2015.5.5.