Expectations, attitudes, and preferences regarding support and purchase of eco-friendly fuel vehicles

Abstract

This study analyses public expectations, attitudes, and preferences to support and purchase eco-friendly fuel vehicles. The study used a telephone survey of a sample of residents in Greater Stavanger, Norway. Two cluster analyses were conducted to group the individuals based on expectations and attitudes toward eco-friendly fuel vehicles. In addition, two multivariate analyses were performed to explore the determinants of support and willingness to purchase eco-friendly fuel vehicles. The study found three components of expectation to support eco-friendly fuel vehicles, namely cost, comfort, and safety. The analysis further found four components to explain attitudes to support eco-friendly fuel vehicles: personal norm, pro-technology, awareness of priority, and environmental degradation. Multivariate analyses confirmed that age, gender, and the number of cars in the household are likely to influence public preferences to support and purchase eco-friendly fuel vehicles. The results reveal that individuals tend to support the eco-friendly vehicles when the technologies meet their expectations towards cost and safety, but the cost expectation is the significant factor that results in the decision to purchase the eco-friendly vehicles. The study also found that the pro-technology attitude has influenced the propensity to support and purchase the eco-friendly fuel vehicles.