Large Car Research Articles

Car Sales, Fuel Economy and Decarbonization in Mexico

The car market in Mexico has undergone substantial change over the last twenty years, as sales have increased dramatically and as policy measures have been introduced to improve fuel economy so that decarbonization targets can be achieved. The argument presented in this paper is that overall fuel economy is driven by vehicle sales and the fuel economy standards imposed. In addition, this picture is complicated by the purchasing preferences of buyers, and this might reduce the effectiveness of the policy measures introduced. A case study approach allows analysis of the shifts in transport policy (2003–2020) to be undertaken by linking the fuel consumption of cars (L/100 km) to the purchasing patterns of consumers, and from this estimate the levels of CO2 emissions. From the empirical analysis, it is found that, although there have been fuel economy gains every year, this is countered by (a) increasing sales of SUVs, and (b) a car market that is increasingly being dominated by larger cars. The current fuel standards are not sufficient to control the continued growth in fuel consumption, and levels of carbon emissions are continuing to increase. In conclusion, tighter emissions standards are needed, together with stronger governance structures and a range of further policy measures to improve car efficiencies and limit growth of the use of larger vehicles.

Personalization of the Car-Sharing Fleet Selected for Commuting to Work or for Educational Purposes—An Opportunity to Increase the Attractiveness of Systems in Smart Cities

Car-sharing services, which provide short-term vehicle rentals in urban centers, are rapidly expanding globally but also face numerous challenges. A significant challenge is the effective management of fleet selection to meet user expectations. Addressing this challenge, as well as methodological and literature gaps, the objective of this article is to present an original methodology that supports the evaluation of the suitability of vehicle fleets used in car-sharing systems and to identify the vehicle features preferred by users necessary for specific types of travel. The proposed methodology, which incorporates elements of transportation system modeling and concurrent analysis, was tested using a real-world case study involving a car-sharing service operator. The research focused on the commuting needs of car-sharing users for work or educational purposes. The study was conducted for a German car-sharing operator in Berlin. The research was carried out from 1 January to 30 June 2022. The findings indicate that the best vehicles for the respondents are large cars representing classes D or E, equipped with a combustion engine with a power of 63 to 149 kW, at least parking sensors, navigation, hands-free, lane assistant, heated seats, and high safety standards as indicated by Euro NCAP ratings, offered at the lowest possible rental price. The results align with market trends in Germany, which focus on the sale of at least medium-sized vehicles. This suggests a limitation of small cars in car-sharing systems, which were ideologically supposed to be a key fleet in those kinds of services. The developed methodology supports both system operators in verifying whether their fleet meets user needs and urban policymakers in effectively managing policies towards car-sharing services, including fleet composition, pricing regulations, and vehicle equipment standards. This work represents a significant step towards enhancing the efficiency of car-sharing services in the context of smart cities, where personalization and optimizing transport are crucial for sustainable development.

Critical radius prediction for small radius curved section of two-lane secondary highways based on speed characteristics

Small radius curved sections of two-lane secondary highways have low technical indicators, complex alignments, and frequent accidents. In order to improve the safety of traffic operation, the article investigates the curved sections of two-lane secondary highways with different radii and obtains the travelling speeds of different vehicle types at different section locations. By studying the trajectory characteristics and speed characteristics of vehicles travelling in curves, the velocity difference ratio, which responds to the continuity of driving speed, was defined. Then, based on this, this paper investigates the vehicle motion law of small radius curved road sections. The results show that the speed change of large cars in small radius curves is similar to a “U" shape, while the speed change of small cars is similar to a “V" shape. The speed adjustments of the larger cars occur mainly within the range of gentle curves, whereas the speed changes of the smaller cars are large throughout the range of curves. There is a significant exponential function relationship between curve radius and 85 % percentile speed, from which the curve radius threshold can be predicted. This provides a basis for engineering construction of curved road sections and optimization of curve design indicators, which greatly improves the traffic safety level of curved road sections.

Carbon Reduction Impact from Synchronising PrescriptionS (CRISPS): A pilot study

Abstract Introduction Synchronising the dates of patients’ repeat prescriptions can reduce monthly community pharmacy visits or home deliveries, which may improve patients’ adherence to medicines.[1] It should also reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions associated with avoidable travel, but previous research does not appear to have determined the potential size of this reduction. This pilot study therefore attempted to do so using routinely collected data. Aim To estimate potential carbon savings from synchronising repeat medicines for a sample of patients from one community pharmacy. Methods All patients who had prescriptions dispensed four times per month or more from a single medium-sized (approximately 2,500 items dispensed per month) urban community pharmacy in England were identified from the pharmacy’s home delivery application. The threshold of four deliveries per month was selected to increase the likelihood of this frequency being due to asynchronised prescriptions. Data were collected (August 2023) for deliveries in June 2023 as there were no public holidays or events to affect prescription ordering. Data included patients’ postcode, delivery dates, and using the Patient Medication Record, the pharmacist collecting the data determined acute or one-off prescription items, that neither the patients nor the repeat medicines were new, and where deliveries were made to supply medicines owing. The pharmacy was selected because it efficiently managed stock to minimise items owing. The distance that would have been travelled was calculated as if the medicines had been collected from the pharmacy as a dedicated journey to and from the patient’s home address instead of being delivered. The saving in miles and CO2 emitted for different vehicle types was modelled by assuming that for each patient, all deliveries that were not for acute items or medicines owing could have been reduced to a single delivery if prescriptions had been synchronised. UK Government conversion factors were used to calculate CO2 emissions.[2] Results Data were collected for 59 patients, of whom 7 patients had 8 deliveries, 4 had 7 deliveries, 6 had 6 deliveries, 16 had 5 deliveries and 26 had 4 deliveries. The total number of deliveries to these patients was 269 but would have been 80 deliveries if the repeat prescriptions had been synchronised (70% reduction). The distance travelled would have been reduced from 842 miles to 241 miles (71% reduction). This would have resulted in a 71% reduction in CO2 emissions, although the reduction in volume in kilograms of CO2 emitted would have varied (by an estimated 137 Kg CO2 or 51%) depending on whether e.g., a small diesel car was used or a large petrol car (reduction of 133kg versus 270 kg CO2). An average diesel car was estimated to have reduced CO2 emissions by 163 kg. Conclusion The findings demonstrate that potential carbon savings from medicines synchronisation can be modelled from routinely collected data, but with limited accuracy, especially as patients receiving home deliveries may not be representative of all pharmacy users. Challenges remain in how to measure actual carbon savings of prescription synchronisation and overcoming barriers to widespread implementation of clinically appropriate synchronisation.

Assessing the prevailing driver seatbelt compliance at Madina Zongo junction in Accra, Ghana: An observational study

Objective This study aimed to examine the prevailing driver seatbelt compliance at the Madina Zongo junction in Accra, Ghana. Methods An unobtrusive observational survey was conducted from 6 to 8 am and 5 to 7 pm on weekdays at randomly designated locations near the junction. A total of 3,054 vehicles were observed throughout the observation period. The data collected were analyzed with SPSS version 26. Cross-tabulations and Pearson’s Chi-square test were employed for thorough analysis. Results The study revealed an overall seatbelt compliance rate of slightly over half (54.1%) among drivers, with the following breakdowns in various vehicle categories: large buses (76.2%), medium buses (98.1%), minibuses (44.0%), private cars (70.5%), taxi/uber (53.0%), and trucks (41.1%). Notably, seatbelt compliance was higher among females at 98.4%, compared to males at 49.2%. The study also identified a correlation between driver’s gender and vehicle type with seatbelt compliance. Conversely, no significant association was found between seatbelt compliance and either the time of day or day of the week. Conclusions The study offers significant findings regarding seatbelt usage trends at the Madina Zongo junction in Accra. These insights provide a basis for recommending targeted interventions such as policy decisions, public health campaigns, communication strategies, better enforcement, and road safety training programs. These interventions aim to raise awareness of unsafe attitudes and behaviors among drivers to improve seatbelt compliance and ultimately enhance road safety for all road users.

Store of value or speculative investment? Market reaction to corporate announcements of cryptocurrency acquisition

In this study, we analyze the stock market reaction to 35 events associated with 32 publicly traded companies from six countries that have announced cryptocurrency acquisitions, selling, or acceptance as a means of payment. Our analysis focuses on traditional firms whose core business is unrelated to blockchain or cryptocurrency. We find that the aggregate market reaction around these events is slightly positive but statistically insignificant for most event windows. However, when we perform heterogeneity analyses, we observe significant differences in market reaction between events with high (larger CARs) and low cryptocurrency exposure (lower CARs). Multivariate regressions show that the level of exposure to cryptocurrency ("skin in the game") is a critical factor underlying abnormal returns around the event. Further analyses reveal that economically meaningful acquisitions of BTC or ETH (relative to firm's total assets) drive the observed effect. Our findings have important implications for managers, investors, and analysts as they shed light on the relationship between cryptocurrency adoption and firm value.

Quality Analysis of Health Center Service Management for Efforts to Improve Patient Satisfaction

Health Centers providing the best quality of service can affect consumer satisfaction in using services. If the quality of service, facilities, and promotions consumers offer is unsatisfactory, consumers no longer use Health Center services. This research focuses on consumer satisfaction with the services provided by the Health Center after using these services and what attributes need to be improved to increase customer satisfaction. This study aims to determine patient satisfaction with the services provided by Health Center X. The method used in this study is IPA (Importance Performance Analysis). This method, also known as quadrants analysis, aims to measure the relationship between consumer perception and the priority of improving the quality of products or services. Twenty-one attributes or statements represent each service dimension: tangibles, empathy, reliability, responsiveness, and assurance. For the quality of services provided by the Health Center to be improved, the Puskesmas must make improvements as soon as possible to statements that fall into the categories that need improvement, namely the words "Large car or motorcycle parking," "Officers carry out administrative processes quickly and precisely," "The ability of the Health Center to respond to complaints, criticisms, and suggestions from patients," and "Guarantee of trust given by officers to services." Puskesmas gets a customer satisfaction level value of 79.03%, which means that the performance given by the Health Center to customers or patients is included in the Satisfied category.

Key Findings from a Transformative Quality Improvement Initiative on Advancing CAR T-Cell Treatment in Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

Background Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy can transform outcomes for eligible patients with relapsed/refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). However, community-based care teams face challenges, including identifying eligible patients and coordinating referral and care, hindering integration into clinical practice. PRIME conducted a quality improvement (QI) initiative to better understand the challenges community oncology teams encounter in coordinating CAR T-cell therapy for patients with NHL and to bridge the gap between tertiary referral centers and large CAR T-cell centers. Methods This QI initiative included baseline provider surveys (n = 60), pre- and post-surveys of providers (n = 55) participating in team-based audit-feedback (AF) sessions (Table 1) and 90-day follow-up surveys. Survey questions were designed to evaluate practice patterns, challenges, and barriers to providing CAR T cell therapy to NHL patients. Care teams from each clinic, along with a CAR T-cell expert from the regional academic center and nationally renowned expert NHL CAR T-cell physician, participated in AF sessions to (a) assess system-specific practice gaps identified via the provider surveys, (b) prioritize areas for improvement, and (c) develop action plans for addressing root causes. Results Provider Surveys: Providers' top reported challenges managing patients with NHL were individualizing treatment plans (33%), patient nonadherence/lack of follow-up (23%), and patient health literacy (20%). Specific barriers to using CAR T-cell therapy included identifying patients eligible for treatment (45%), gaining approval from the insurance company (40%), and transferring the patient to a CAR T-cell center for infusion (27%). When asked about clinical practices, 48% of providers reported discussing novel therapies for NHL in detail with their patients, and 51% of providers often or always refer eligible patients for CAR T-cell therapy. While 45% of providers rated the level of collaboration/communication between CAR T-cell centers and oncology clinics as very good/excellent, more than half felt it could be better, citing insufficient sharing of patient information (38%), and lack of expertise in CAR T-cell administration among clinic staff (18%) as common challenges. Small Group AF Sessions: HCPs participating in the A/F sessions reported key challenges of treatment with CAR T-cell therapy as gaining approval from insurance companies (33%), managing patients post-treatment (26%), and identifying patients eligible for treatment (22%) (Figure 1).Improvement in very high/high confidence were noted in identifying eligible patients for CAR T-cell therapy (51% to 84%) and managing adverse/late effects of CAR T-cell therapy in patients with NHL (46% to 85%). Action plans outlined to achieve CAR T-Cell therapy goals included: increase efforts to facilitate timely patient referrals for CAR T-cell therapy, improve communication between referral centers and CAR T-cell therapy performing centers, and enhance patient knowledge and expand supportive care discussions for CAR T-cell therapy. Follow-up Surveys: In 90-day follow up surveys (n = 12), 92% of respondents reported good/very good/excellent communication and collaboration between CAR T-cell centers and oncology clinics. Additionally, 75% report improved identification of eligible patients for CAR T-cell therapy. Despite these improvements, clinics top challenge of gaining approval from the insurance company for CAR T-cell therapy (33%) persists. Conclusions Through this QI initiative, clinical teams created and implemented action plans to close gaps in identifying eligible patients, coordinating CAR T-cell therapy referral and approval, and providing counseling and obtaining consent among hematology/oncology team members. Following the initiative, meaningful confidence gains were noted in identifying eligible patients for CAR T-cell therapy and managing adverse/late effects of treatment. Action plans developed by HCPs following this QI initiative, will be addressed in future initiatives to support evidence-based integration of CAR T-cell therapies into NHL care to optimize patient outcomes. Study Sponsor Statement The study reported in this abstract was funded by an independent educational grant from Bristol Myers Squibb, who had no role in the study design, execution, analysis, or reporting.

The Influence of Bank-Specific, Industry-Specific, and Macroeconomic Factors on Conventional Bank Performance in Indonesia

This research aims to examine the influence of Liquidity, Bank Size, Operational Efficiency, Asset Quality, CAR, NPL, LDR, Asset Share, Average Exchange Rate, and Inflation Rate on the performance of conventional banks. The research sample used was conventional banks listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange for the period 2019 - 2022. Data was taken from time series data for 2019 - 2022 for the independent variable and bank performance as the dependent variable. The methodology of this research is OLS with Eviews 12 software. The findings in this research are that Liquidity, Bank Size, Operational Efficiency, Asset Quality, CAR, NPL, LDR, Asset Share, Average Exchange Rate, and Inflation Rate simultaneously influence the performance of conventional banks. Bank size, operational efficiency, asset quality, CAR, and NPL, have a significant effect on changes in conventional bank performance as measured by ROA. Bank Size, Operational Efficiency, CAR, NPL have a significant effect on changes in conventional bank performance as measured by ROE. Bank size, operational efficiency, CAR, NPL, LDR, and inflation rate have a significant effect on changes in conventional bank performance as measured by NIM. Bank Size and CAR have a positive and significant effect on changes in conventional bank performance, while Operational Efficiency and NPL have a negative and significant effect on changes in conventional bank performance. Banks can take advantage of large bank size and CAR opportunities to improve their performance so that investors are interested in buying bank shares. Operational efficiency and low and controlled NPL will increase banking profits, especially in conventional banks, thereby improving the bank's performance. It is hoped that the results of this research can provide input for banks and investors to consider bank size, operational efficiency, CAR, and NPL in managing their business and in making investment decisions.

Потребительские практики и настроения населения в условиях нестабильности 2020–2022 гг. (региональный аспект)

Various crises are integral for social development. Primarily crises manifest themselves in income and consumption changes, which makes consumer behavior and population sentiment studies necessary in unstable socio-economic conditions. The purpose of the study is to analyze consumer practice and population sentiment trends in the Vologda Oblast during the socio-economic changes of 2020–2022. The author determines that consumer practices of the region’s population hardly change in quantitative and qualitative terms, consumer sentiments also appear stable. Population’s assessment of capability for large purchases, car and housing purchases, savings remains neutral. However, the persistency of neutral consumer practices and sentiments levels suggests that the residents of the region do not expect positive changes in the economic life of their family and the country in the near future.

Car choice determinants in Italy and Norway: A comparison based on revealed and stated choices

Norway is the leading country in electric car adoption in the world, while in Italy electric cars are only recently gaining acceptance. We compared car choices in the two countries highlighting commonalities and differences in the choice determinants, distinguishing between the small and the large car segment. We analyzed actual choices made in the real-world conditions and stated choices under hypothetical scenarios. The comparison between the preference structures of the two countries shows important differences when the revealed preference dataset is analyzed, while the differences are much reduced with the stated preference dataset. All in all, we feel that the two countries present only differences associated with longer car driving habits of the Norwegian drivers, the higher percentage of large cars in Norway, and the more developed public charging infrastructure. Since the supply of cars is quite similar, such a consideration leads us to believe that the huge discrepancy in electric car uptake is mainly due to the different car policies adopted in the two countries. The evolution of the policy setting and of the technology will determine whether Italy will follow the Norwegian model of gradual BEV uptake.

Optimalisasi Pengelolaan Lahan Parkir Menggunakan Program Integer Metode Branch And Bound Di Mall Plaza Medan Fair

The rapid development of vehicles has an impact on increasing the need for parking space, thus demanding the need for availability and land management that provides convenience and comfort for motorists. Plaza Medan Fair mall is still not optimal in planning and managing parking lots, this can be seen from the number of vehicles that do not get parking spaces while parking is still available, besides that the placement of parking cars has not been arranged so that visitors still have difficulty in finding a parking space. This can have an impact on not optimal parking lot income. Parking lot management can be done by classifying parking by categorizing vehicles according to their group considering that each vehicle has a different size and can be grouped according to type. Optimization of parking management can be done using the branch and bound method integer program. The branch and bound method is a method to find the optimal solution to the integer problem with the concept of branching and bounding. The results of the study found that there were 200 parking spaces for small cars, 651 parking spaces, 651 parking spaces, 226 large cars and 70 parking spaces. The maximum parking income obtained by Plaza Medan Fair mall is Rp10,023,000.-.

Fuel Consumption Prediction and Optimization Model for Pure Car/Truck Transport Ships

Predicting and optimizing ship fuel use is a crucial technology for lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Unfortunately, existing research is rarely capable of developing fuel consumption forecasts and optimization models for a particular transport system. This study develops a fuel consumption prediction model based on machine learning and a fuel consumption optimization model based on particle swarm optimization for ships. We studied nearly ten years of big data from a large Korean pure car and truck shipping company (PCTC), which contained 16,189 observations from 2012 to 2021. Results indicate that the XGBoost deep learning model outperforms conventional prediction models at the stage of fuel consumption prediction, with an R2 of 0.97. Furthermore, in the fuel consumption optimization stage, the particle swarm optimization method can effectively reduce fuel consumption. This study helps PCTC companies control shipping costs and save energy. Insights for shipping businesses to meet environmental demands are provided as well.

Cars, capitalism and ecological crises: understanding systemic barriers to a sustainability transition in the German car industry

ABSTRACT In the face of climate and ecological crises, it is vital that car use be reduced, while simultaneously shifting towards different powertrains and reducing the size, weight and energy demand of vehicles. This poses a challenge to the global car industry, as its business model historically centres on selling more and larger cars. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to examine the social-ecological limits of industrial restructuring in Germany. A narrative literature review through the lens of Marxian political economy sheds light on intertwined system-immanent barriers to achieving social and ecological sustainability at the sectoral level. Consequently, powertrain electrification is structured by technological dynamism, which fuels appropriation in the quest for metals and rare earths, with significant social and ecological disadvantages. This generates an impasse for the industry’s transition strategies. Understanding how capitalist tendencies generate interlaced and mutually re-enforcing barriers to achieving social-ecological sustainability is key to understanding why industrial transitions are insufficient from a social-ecological perspective.

Comparative study of regular and smart grids with PV for Electrification of an academic campus with EV charging.

The current global greenhouse gas (GHG) emission rates will increase the average global temperature by 1.5°C by 2050. This will be detrimental for organisms and ecosystems, as well as human well-being. Many countries have pledged to halve their emissions by 2030 and reach net zero targets by 2050. Optimum generation of electricity from sustainable green sources and its use to charge electric vehicle (EV) batteries will solve this problem to greater extent. The best places to capture solar energy, use it to meet load demand and charge EV batteries are the large open car parking areas near retail stores, academic institutes, industrial areas, and offices. This study targets the open parking areas of an academic campus (King Saud University, Riyadh) to meet the load demand of 25,000 kWh/day with a peak load of 4180kW and charging the batteries of parked EVs. Four system designs, simple grid, standalone photovoltaic (PV), simple grid and PV, and smart grid and PV, are compared. Currently, the cost of energy (COE) of the grid is US $ 0.085 in KSA. In comparison, the COE of standalone PV is almost 4.5 folds higher and in simple grid with PV, it is around 58% higher. However, a renewable penetration of 53.8% is achieved. In the third option, smart grid with PV, the COE is 24% lower compared to the base case. A 54.3% of the total energy produced is sold back to the grid, and the total renewable penetration of 77.7% is achieved. To observe the effect of energy sale limit on project parameters, the sensitivity analysis is performed. It can be observed that with a 1MW increase in the limit, the COE decreases by around 20% and net present cost (NPC) by around 6%. The proposed models for the solar car parks can be used elsewhere with similar climatic conditions.

Finding alternatives for the traditional diesel-powered company car: A conjoint analysis approach

Although the use of company cars is associated with more congestion, pollution and accidents compared to privately owned cars, the Belgian fiscal system provides exceptionally high incentives to company cars. As a result, the proportion of company cars is higher in Belgium than in any other OECD country. With a corporate mobility budget, more sustainable options are being offered as an alternative to large diesel-powered company cars, but little is known about how company car drivers value these alternatives. In this article, we explore how car-dependent employees make their choices in the company mobility system and aim to find options that enable more sustainable commuting. A choice-based conjoint analysis carried out among 422 car dependent company car drivers was used to measure their preference for alternative car-based solutions. The results indicate an overall preference for hybrid cars, but a shift toward fully electric vehicles is necessary to have a significant impact on climate change. Our results suggest that respondents with a higher environmental concern are more eager to make the transition toward smaller and fully electric vehicles, which is in line with previous studies. The study revealed that there is currently no alternative that is both more sustainable and more preferred by the sample, which again stresses the need for more drastic government intervention.

Battling the large car boom: How to increase the adoption of small battery electric vehicles

The transport sector needs to be decarbonized drastically to meet the goal of the Paris Agreement. Yet, we see a trend towards heavier and larger cars in new car registrations, leading to higher greenhouse gas emissions. By conducting a choice experiment with 859 Swiss households, we estimate the probability of conventional car owners to switch to owning a small BEV for everyday trips in combination with either public transport or carsharing/car-rental for the occasional long-range trips. Through binary logistic regression, we test several variables related to socio-demographics, mobility characteristics, attitudes and values in increasing the odds to switch to one of the alternatives. We provide relevant guidance to policy makers and transport planners in increasing the uptake of small BEVs in combination with mobility services in order to counter the trend towards large cars.

Study on Interior Aerodynamic Noise Characteristics of the High-Speed Maglev Train in the Low Vacuum Tube

As the next-generation high-speed transportation system, the low vacuum tube high-speed maglev system combines the tube with a certain degree of vacuum with the high-speed maglev train, which can realize high-speed operation under low aerodynamic resistance and noise mode. In order to study the interior aerodynamic noise characteristics of the high-speed maglev train in the low vacuum tube, a computational model of the external flow field of the high-speed maglev train in a low vacuum tube was established, and the computational model of the interior aerodynamic noise of the high-speed maglev train was established using the statistical energy analysis method; then the interior aerodynamic noise characteristics of the high-speed maglev train in the low vacuum tube were studied. The research results show that in the low vacuum tube, the distribution of the interior aerodynamic noise of the high-speed maglev train shows the characteristics of large head car and tail car and small middle car, and the aerodynamic noise on the top of the car is smaller than that on the floor. With the increase in frequency, the sound pressure level of the interior aerodynamic noise of the high-speed maglev train has the tendency of increasing first and then decreasing, and the main energy of the interior aerodynamic noise is distributed in the range of 200–1000 Hz. From the perspective of the total sound pressure level of the interior aerodynamic noise, the interior aerodynamic noise of the tail car is the greatest, followed by the head car, and the interior aerodynamic noise of the middle car is the smallest. As the direction of the travel of the maglev train will change, the optimization design of the interior aerodynamic noise of the head and tail cars should be emphasized.

Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis during Selection of Vehicles for Car-Sharing Services—Regular Users’ Expectations

Car-sharing systems, i.e., automatic, short-time car rentals, are among the solutions of the new mobility concept, which in recent years has gained popularity around the world. With the growing interest in services in society, their demands for the services offered to them have also increased. Since cars play a key role in car-sharing services, the fleet of vehicles should be properly adapted to the needs of customers using the systems. Due to the literature gap related to the procedure of proper selection of vehicles for car sharing and the market need for car-sharing service operators, this work has been devoted to the selection of car models for car sharing from the perspective of users constantly using the systems (regular users). This paper considered the case of the Polish who are constantly using car-sharing service systems. Vehicle selection was classified as a multi-faceted, complex problem, which is why one of the ELECTRE III multi-criteria decision support methods was used for this study. This study focused on the classification of vehicles from the user’s perspective. Twelve modern and most popular car models in 2021 with internal combustion, electric and hybrid engines were considered. The results indicate that the best choice from the point of view of regular customers is large cars (representing vehicle classes C and D), with a large luggage compartment capacity, the highest possible ratio of engine power to vehicle weight, and the ratio of engine power to energy consumption. Importantly, small urban vehicles, which ideologically should be associated with car-sharing services due to occupying as little urban space as possible, were classified as the worst in the ranking. The results support car-sharing operators during the process of completing or upgrading their vehicle fleets.

Car careers: A socio-psychological evaluation of aspirational automobile ownership

There is a general consensus that private car ownership is a significant barrier to transport system change, specifically in regard to injuries, space, air pollutants, or greenhouse gas emissions. Observed changes in automobile characteristics also suggest that the system is becoming less sustainable, given trends towards larger cars with greater mass and horsepower. It is thus relevant to understand how the automobile system progresses. National statistics provide data on the technical side of car ownership, such as changes in vehicle specifics or national fleet size. This paper complements this view with a socio-psychological perspective on aspirational car ownership, i.e. the type of car people preferred to drive if given a free choice. Data is derived from an online panel (n = 1,211) representative of the German population, and also contains information on current car ownership, use, driving style, traffic behavior, attitudes towards traffic risks and safety measures, as well as political orientation. This allows for a discussion of driver segments in relation to the characteristics of cars, and hence to better understand the socio-psychological drivers of the development of the automobile system.