*Director, Amity Institute of Social Science, Amity University, Sector 125, Noida, Uttar Pradesh-201303, India
**Research Associate, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, Australia
***Research Associate, Amity Institute of Social Science, Amity University, Sector 125, Noida, Uttar Pradesh-201303, India
****Pro Vice-Chancellor, International Research. Engagement, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, Australia
Online published on 25 October, 2016.
This paper presents results of a research study on regional differences in consumer preferences for alternative energy Transport with special focus on electric vehicle (EV). The study was conducted in eleven cities (Rohtak, Lucknow, Jaipur, Coimbatore, Chennai, Bangalore, Trivandrum, Cochin, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune) from eight states (Delhi NCR, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana, Maharashtra) in three geographical regions of India (North India, South India, West India) by covering 1759 respondents belonging to different age groups. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS®) was used for analysis of data. Findings indicate that, in general, fueled vehicles are still preferred over electric vehicles. However, there is a strong interest in electric vehicles. It was observed that there is no significant difference in consumer's attitude towards new technology from different zones of India, however, respondents from South India and West India share the same perception towards the environment factor that “Cars, minivans, vans, pickups, and SUVs are an important source of air pollution” whereas perception of respondents from North India reflect that “cars, minivans, vans, pickups and SUVs are not the important source of air pollution”. The research also highlights that environmental factors play an important role in consumer purchase decision-making in North India. This is highlighted in case of those respondents who are ready to pay a premium of 10–15 per cent if the product meets their requirement. To highlight the important variables, factor analysis was used. It was found that the important factors are fuel efficiency, safety and vehicle power in comparison to purchase price, reliability, vehicle size, operating costs, vehicle model, fuel type, vehicle emissions and pollution. Nearly 84 per cent of total respondents are willing to purchase an electric motor vehicle once they become available in the market with the above mentioned features.
Regional Differences, Electric Vehicle, Alternative Fuel Vehicles, Consumer Perceptions, Environmental Policy, Willingness-to-Pay
