Symbolism and the Adoption of Fuel-Cell Vehicles

Abstract

Since car buyers have limited practical experience with FCVs, direct study of FCV adoption is not feasible. However, consumer behavior toward other types of advanced-technology vehicles may offer clues about how the market for FCVs will develop. Research of hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs) indicates that consumers adopt these vehicles partly because of the vehicles' symbolism. Any vehicle can serve as a symbol; it can represent larger ideas, meanings that frequently relate to the identity of the vehicle's owner. This qualitative research study examines early buyers of HEVs to understand the symbolic meanings they perceived in their vehicles and the role symbolism played in their vehicle purchases. Findings from these buyers are then prospectively applied to the future market for FCVs. The study includes four specific recommendations to increase the possibility that FCV buyers can access and communicate relevant symbolic meanings with their vehicles.

Private household demand for vehicles on alternative fuels and drive trains: a review

“…Second, research from the 80s and 90s mainly focused on the potential demand for battery EVs [13,14,24,27,38,39,54,55,79,90], while studies from the late 90s and 2000s rather address a mix of AFVs including EVs, LPG, CNG or methanol [21][22][23]33,34,42,81,87]. In line with technological developments, recent research also concentrates on HEVs [3,10,26,29,31,32,45,49,53,72], PHEVs [ 9 , 11], bi ofuels [51,68,69,80,89,91], hydrogen [2,66,74,76,86] and HFCVs [46,61,62,65]. Finally, most literature has been published in America.…”

“…Studies of symbolism either rely on conceptual frameworks from psychology (see [57,82]) or on ethnographic interviews which originate from anthropology (i.e., semiotics) (see [45,46]). The former studies used socialscientific research techniques to illustrate that the attractiveness of car use not only depends on instrumental-reasoned factors (e.g., travel costs, safety), but also on symbolicaffective motivations (e.g., status and social comparison, feelings of self-expression, feelings of sensation).…”

“…The former studies used socialscientific research techniques to illustrate that the attractiveness of car use not only depends on instrumental-reasoned factors (e.g., travel costs, safety), but also on symbolicaffective motivations (e.g., status and social comparison, feelings of self-expression, feelings of sensation). The latter studies by Heffner et al [45,46] assume that vehicles are important carriers of symbolic meanings that are used to maintain (product as self-expression) and create (product as self-creation) self-identity. By selecting a particular vehicle, people communicate their interests, beliefs, values and social status.…”

“…In addition, it might overcome some of the challenges associated with the examination of symbolic meanings, such as the tendency to understate the impact of symbolic meanings in vehicle purchases [45,46]. On the other hand, this approach relies on the existence of AFVs on the market and associated symbolic meanings, which take time to appear and to communicate [75].…”

“…They were important to early buyers of EVs in Norway [36] and HEVs in the US [45,46]. Heffner et al [45] used ethnographic interviews with 25 early HEV buyers to explore how widely recognised social meanings (denotations) are connected to more personal meanings (connotations) and how they affect vehicle purchase.…”