How Much Polish Consumers Know about Alternative Fuel Vehicles? Impact of Knowledge on the Willingness to Buy

Abstract

Limited consumer knowledge reduces the chances of the spread of alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs), and hence slows down AFV market spread. In our empirical survey conducted in the first quarter of 2020 among 1002 Poles planning to buy a car in the next 12 months or who have just bought one, we examine what socio-economic and attitudinal factors influence their willingness to buy an AFV. In particular, we are interested in exploring how AFV knowledge related to understanding of the differences between hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs), as well as brand recognition associate with the willingness to buy. To the best our knowledge, this is a unique study among consumers in Central and Eastern Europe, characterized by lower exposure to AFVs and lower purchasing power. Our results indicate that males with pro-environmental beliefs and behaviors who are interested in modern automotive technologies and have good AFV brand recognition are predominated to be willing to buy an AFV in the near future.