Comportamento do consumidor face à mobilidade elétrica automóvel

Abstract

The growing problem of climate change raises a number of issues from the point of view of human health and planet sustainability. The transportation sector, as the largest source of CO2 emissions, urgently needs to replace internal combustion engines with more energy-efficient and lower CO2 and GHG emissions alternatives, such as electrically powered cars. Although today it is already clear the need to adopt electric-powered cars, their adoption levels still have to evolve a lot for the goals imposed by various European institutions to be achieved. This study focuses, therefore, on analyzing the factors influencing the intention to purchase EV in Portugal, as well as identifying which types of engines Portuguese consumers intend to purchase and the factors that lead them to make that choice. Derived from the existing literature review, the following factors were analyzed: range anxiety, infrastructure, charging time, reliability, price, governmental incentives, environmental concern, social reputation and attitude. To evaluate and respond to the objectives of this work, a quantitative study was developed through a survey, for which we obtained a sample of 201 potential consumers, living in Portugal. The results show that range anxiety was the only factor with a negative influence on the intention to purchase EV, while the other factors usually considered as barriers (charging time, infrastructure and price) showed no statistical significance. Furthermore, it is possible to conclude that Portuguese consumers show a high level of environmental concern, as the environmental concern factor, alongside with governmental incentives, social reputation, attitude and reliability showing a positive influence on EV purchase intention and that the preferred type of vehicle is the Plug-in Hybrid. With the results of this research, we intend to contribute to the knowledge of the current state of the EV market in Portugal, so that the results achieved, and the suggestions given, can help brands and the Portuguese government to define effective strategies that positively influence EV purchase intention.

Date of Award	16 Jul 2021
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Jorge Julião (Supervisor) & Luís Manuel Ventura Serrano (Co-Supervisor)