Abstract
As traffic congestion and air pollution rise at alarming rates in many cities worldwide, new smart technologies are emerging to meet the urban mobility challenge. In addition, automotive firms have transformed their business models to make them more sustainable and to adjust to demand response. Electric vehicles (EVs) represent a viable option to reduce ecological damage and improve public health. However, in the previous literature, no consensus has been reached on the profile of prospective buyers of EVs. Based on a large-scale sample of Spanish citizens and using cluster analysis, our study provides a better understanding of the demographics of such prospective buyers. We identified four types of EV prospective buyers. Our results show that although men have a strong preference for EVs, low-income older women prove to be the most EV-aware group; their automotive driving experience and concern for sustainability could be among the underlying causes of this particular interest. Another valuable insight is the greater partiality of older people for EVs. These findings have many implications for managers, especially in the automotive industry, policymakers, and sustainability strategists. They show that EV prospective buyers should not be approached as a homogeneous group but as a heterogeneous group with different socio-demographic characteristics that might help decision-makers make better business decisions.
Highlights
We are living in unprecedented times that require rethinking the way we live and shaping sustainable lifestyles
This study contributes some novel insights to the scarce research on this topic by showing the importance of socio-demographic characteristics in profiling prospective buyers of Electric vehicles (EVs)
The findings suggest that there is a potential need to design EV adoption strategies that are tailored to specific socio-demographic clusters
Summary
We are living in unprecedented times that require rethinking the way we live and shaping sustainable lifestyles. The ongoing Global COVID-19 pandemic could have a lasting impact on mobility as it drives change in the macroeconomic environment, workplace practices, regulatory trends, sustainability, technology, and consumer behaviours [1]. Population mobility has a significant effect on the COVID-19 epidemic [2]. As urban inhabitants grow, existing and emerging cities face the challenge of becoming more sustainable and meeting rising demands for efficient urban mobility within limited physical infrastructure capacity. Citizens’ expectations are changing continually, influenced by ongoing innovations around information technology, low-carbon and efficient vehicle technologies, and improvements in infrastructure management
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