Approaching and distancing factors of flectric vehicle consumers

Abstract

The present study aims to identify the factors approaching and distancing users from the purchase of electric vehicles. The main objective is, therefore, to determine which characteristics - of the vehicle, the service and / or the external context - lead consumers to make the decision to buy or not buy this type of automobile. A qualitative analysis of 5 interviewed professional from the EV sector was conducted, followed by the analysis of 250 questionnaire target market’s responses. The results predict that the Environmental Performance (EP), the Governmental Tax incentives and TCO (TAX_TCO) as well as the Maintenance cost reduction (MCR) EV’s attributes are the greatest consumption Approaching factors. On the other hand, the Charging facilities availability (CFA), the Time cost of charging and the Driving experience (DE) are suggested as the attributes most distancing consumers from a purchase. Furthermore, other conclusions were drawn particularly concerning the significance of test-driving experiences and EVs. Moreover, findings also suggest that non-EV owners perceive greater autonomy for PHEVS than users who currently own an EV. Finally, key takeaways were drawn, aiming towards a greater EV’s sales success rate, EV customer’s satisfaction and an overall increase in demand and market share.

Date of Award	16 Jul 2021
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Jorge Julião (Supervisor) & Marcelo Gaspar (Co-Supervisor)