Paving the Way for the Electric Vehicle

I VINNOVAs publikationsserier redovisar forskare sina projekt. Publiceringen innebär inte aa VINNOVA tar ställning till framförda åsikter, slutsatser och resultat. Abstract Urban areas worldwide have long suffered from air pollution problems due to condensed population and high vehicle use. With no tailpipe fumes or engine oil drips, silence of operation, easiness of maintenance, and high-energy efficiency the electric vehicle (EV) makes an appealing solution to this problem. However, compared to conventional cars the EV still has inferior operating performance, longer refuelling time, higher purchase price, and lacks a well-developed infrastructure, which give great concern for the acceptance of the EV. In this report the acceptance of EVs is studied using three different marketing strategies; an Internet-based multi-media marketing strategy, the M-EV99 program, showroom visits, and free trials. I is suggested that using an Internet-based strategy early on in the marketing process could be useful in making people aware of, and in stirring up an interest in, the electric alternative. However, to actually adopt, or buy, a new product such as the EV more is needed than favourable responses elicited by a marketing program. In the showroom visits and in the free trials, which both gave subjects hands-on experience with a specific EV, the Renault Clio Electrique, it was shown that the subjects did not have any major problem in using the EV. However, it was also shown that in the strategies in which the subjects got hands-on experience with the Renault Clio Electrique the subjects' perception of the EV rather decreased than increased.