Although researchers have started to examine the landscape of electric vehicles (EVs) around the world, very little research has examined this phenomenon in Kuwait. In addition, limited research has explored it among drivers. Kuwait constitutes a very promising market for EVs because there is a need to lower GHG emissions and improve the air quality in Kuwait. This study therefore explored the attitudes of conventional car internal combustion engine (ICE) drivers towards EVs in Kuwait, particularly identifying attributes, features, enablers, and barriers of EVs that are considered important by potential consumers in Kuwait. This study utilized a mixed method approach in terms of quantitative data and qualitative data from a sample of 472 drivers to accomplish the main objectives of this study. The study showed that more than half of participants would buy an EV within the next 3 years, and they would buy if several conditions were met. That includes a cheaper purchase price with the assistance of policies controlled by the government along with the availability of suitable infrastructure for EVs relating to charging stations, fast lanes, and free parking spaces. More than 40% of participants would also seriously start thinking about buying an EV if the gas/fuel prices increased by between 50 and 199%. More than 40% of participants thought that EVs are safe in relation to fire and car crashes. Furthermore, approximately half of participants would pay 6–20% more for an EV that is both environmentally friendly and much quicker than gasoline cars. In addition, participants would also prefer EVs over gasoline cars in the future for their environmental, economic, and technological values. More importantly, the study yielded many significant findings, such as the demanded and preferred features of EVs and reflections on the readiness of the Kuwaiti market.
The Middle East, Gulf Cooperation Council Countries (GCC), and Kuwait, in particular, are currently experiencing a similar transition as the USA in the 1970s regarding the empowerment and independence of women, fueled by a declining birth rate from four per women to less than two. In addition, the percentage of women with university degrees has been increasing at a logarithmic rate every decade since the 1960s in the USA and since 1990 in Kuwait, resulting in women comprising well over half of all university graduates. This has led to women obtaining better jobs and enjoying greater independence to make their own decisions. In the 1960s, Toyota and other Japanese car manufactures used this phenomenon to penetrate the US market, with significant success. Their selling points were lower maintenance requirements, higher reliability, safety, better environment friendliness and slicker interior designs, the last being especially adapted to women’s tastes. We believe that Chinese and Korean electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers will employ the same playbook with similar success, as the Middle East accelerates its readiness for the EV mainstream market. In this study, this prediction was supported by a quantitative questionnaire of 234 educated female Kuwaiti drivers from the ages of 18 to 40 in Kuwait regarding their preferences regarding EVs. The findings indicate that potential female buyers favor EVs for their environmental benefits, regardless of their demographics. Moreover, potential female consumers are highly willing to purchase EVs in the future under three conditions: infrastructure availability, environmental development, and affordability. We believe that this group, in particular, will present the greatest opportunity to EV manufacturers over the next 10 years.
The automotive industry is at a crossroad. Electric Vehicles (EV) now pose an existential threat to the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE). In some Northern European nations over 50% of new cars sold are EVs, owing in large part to substantial financial incentives to buy and own an EV, such as tax discounts when purchasing an EV, fuel savings, and preferential use of transportation infrastructure. These countries have pledged to cease all imports of non-EVs by 2035. On the other end of the spectrum are Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, where EVs account for less than 1 percent of vehicles on the road, due in large part to financial and non-financial impediments to buying and owning an EV. In addition, the price per kilometer driven in the GCC is considerably lower with gasoline than with electricity, which contradicts the European experience where cost savings from electricity versus gasoline can be around 8 to 1. Furthermore, as there is an absence of purchase and ownership/utilization taxation of vehicles in the GCC, no tax discount can be levied, in contrast to the EV tax incentives common in Europe. This paper explores which qualities of driving and owning an EV in the GCC are necessary to persuade certain kinds of new automobile consumers to pay a higher purchasing price for owning an EV as opposed to an ICE, in spite of higher costs for electricity compared to gasoline per kilometer driven. This pilot study attempts to provide an insight to new car purchasing behavior among consumers in Kuwait via a qualitative innovative approach known as ‘Q Methodology’. Interestingly, the factors that emerged from the research represent three subjective perspectives of new car purchase in Kuwait which were labeled as Factor 1, ‘Value Seeker’; Factor 2, ‘Safety Seeker’; and Factor 3, ‘Performance Seeker’. The study concludes that given financial constraints, the ‘Value Seeker’ group is not likely to become an early adopter of EVs in the GCC region. Conversely, the ‘Performance Seeker’, which includes mainly younger men who are more likely to view the fast acceleration of EVs as a deciding factor, and the ‘Safety Seekers’, who are mainly younger women who would value the environmental aspects of EVs as well as the quiet driving experience and low maintenance requirements are determining factors for EV adoption in the GCC region in the future.
Ever since the discovery of oil in 1938, the State of Kuwait has increasingly sought out international brands in the car market due to the high purchasing power of Kuwaiti nationals. However, the makers of electric vehicles (EVs) have not been able to penetrate this market, with the exception of innovators and early adopters. The phenomenon in disruptive innovation theory—called “Crossing the Chasm”—regarding a mass market appeal has not yet occurred in Kuwait. Through deep interviews with 12 Kuwaiti owners of EVs and automotive dealers who sold either EVs or Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs), 10 key reasons for this phenomenon have been previously revealed, which were used to develop an extensive questionnaire. A total of 472 car drivers aged from 18 to 30, identified as the “early majority”, completed the questionnaire to achieve the objective of identifying the factors required to create a mass market for EVs in Kuwait. The results demonstrated that potential customers highly preferred three different types of attributes of EVs: environmental, financial, and technological. There were significant differences in the identified attributes preferred by Kuwaiti individuals for EVs in terms of the number of cars owned and the sector of employment. Moreover, the results of our study indicate that potential customers are very willing to buy EVs in the future, considering both their financial and infrastructure attributes. There were further significant differences in the identified necessary conditions to buy EVs in terms of educational level and monthly income. This study discusses a variety of valuable promotional tactics, which may be implemented in conjunction with public incentives and policy changes in the State of Kuwait. This information is considered useful for marketers and designers who wish to tap into this lucrative market, which is significantly different from that in the global North.
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