Socio-Demographic Aspects Affecting Individual Stances towards Electric and Hybrid Vehicles in the Czech Republic

Abstract

The world’s human population and its natural environment are currently facing many unfavourable effects from climate change. A significant proportion of this phenomenon is attributable to air pollution generated by combustion engines used in transportation (greenhouse gases, dust particles, etc.). Despite the inevitable need for decisive actions to reverse climate change, central authorities may face significant pushbacks when actually promoting or enforcing electric and hybrid-based mobility, if a wrong (ineffective) mix of restrictions and incentives is applied. Using primary data from the Czech Republic (surveyed in 2019), we use logistic regression and other means of quantitative analysis to provide detailed information on socio-demographic and lifestyle factors affecting individual stances towards different aspects involved with the upcoming transition towards clean personal transportation. In this paper, we focus on topics related to electric and hybrid vehicles. Based on our analysis, we provide actionable information to facilitate the complex process of turning combustion-based transportation into a sustainable feature of our modern society. We find important gender and age-related differences in opinions towards diverse aspects related to changes in personal mobility. Women and older individuals are significantly more in favour of environmentally responsible transportation means. Active car-drivers (individuals who perceive themselves as such) in lifestyle segmentation are distinctively less in favour of ecologically oriented changes – hence such individuals ought be the primary targets for marketing and educational activities (perhaps even state-sponsored) aimed to shift vehicle (mobility in general) procurements towards environmentally responsible choices. Implications for Central European audience: Climate protection is a key subject embedded in multiple EU policies. In Central European countries, the forthcoming transitioning of individual mobility towards EVs and hybrids might be a bit more complicated as compared to “old” EU members: our purchasing power is weaker, our car markets are more price sensitive and they rely heavily on imported second-hand cars. Our insights may be used to alleviate possible complications and bottlenecks in the process of reducing environmental pollution produced by individual transportation.