The Effects of a First-Time Experience on the Evaluation of Battery Electric Vehicles by Potential Consumers

Abstract

In some countries, such as Norway, there is significant growth in the proportion of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) among new registrations. This is not the case in Germany, where less than 1% of all newly registered vehicles are electric cars. This disparity raises the questions of whether the performance factors of current BEVs (e.g., driving range) are able to compete with petrol-powered cars and how they are perceived by potential customers. Using marketing methods, car manufacturers can influence attitudes towards products and increase purchase intentions. Most prior studies used experiments in different settings to find out the perceived value of BEVs among potential customers, taking into account a longer perspective. There are no prior studies on the influence of short test drives on the value perception of BEVs. The main objective of this article was to explore and assess the effects of a first-time experience on the evaluation of BEVs by potential consumers in the German market (around the city of Münster, in the North Rhine-Westphalia region). We utilized the concept of a sensory marketing approach in the form of a short (10–15 min) test drive experiment. The results showed that perceptions, in terms of acquisition costs and acceleration/driving pleasure in particular, are developing positively. Other increasing values are maintenance and energy costs, engine/battery reliability, range in km, and driving comfort. In addition, the perception of all other performance factors has developed positively. Also, willingness to buy a BEV increased after the short test drive. The experiment shows that short test drives with BEVs are a suitable means to support the widespread promotion of electric cars.

Evaluation of the Italian transport infrastructures: A technical and economic efficiency analysis

“…Airport privatisation programmes stimulate innovation and technical efficiency in the use of aircrafts and infrastructures and enhance long-term environmental sustainability and country competitiveness ( Czerny, 2006 ; Ioppolo et al, 2016 ; Szopik-Depczyńska et al, 2018 ). However, since the airport system is affected by many intangible factors, such as tourists' preferences and concessions, and climatic and land factors, performance assessment becomes more difficult ( Hinnüber et al, 2019 ). Moreover, due to a lack of adequate empirical evidence, as Fink (2013a) argued in a seminal paper, the interactions between environmental sustainability and privatisation programs cannot be found ex-ante.…”

Are They All Equal? Uncovering Adopter Groups of Battery Electric Vehicles

“…Regarding BEV's performance attributes, driving pleasure is one of the major advantages of BEVs [25]. It includes high acceleration, comfortable driving experience, and speed [26][27][28]. However, this positive experience is highly limited by BEVs' range [27,29,30].…”

“…It includes high acceleration, comfortable driving experience, and speed [26][27][28]. However, this positive experience is highly limited by BEVs' range [27,29,30]. Zhang et al [31] reported the range of 14 BEVs, reaching from a minimum of 113 km to 480 km.…”

“…Furthermore, the availability of charging infrastructure is a crucial attribute determining the adoption of BEVs [27,33,34]. In particular, the time for recharging is important.…”

New goods demand patterns in digital economy environment: The case of electric vehicles in Russia

“…The effects of a first-time experience on the evaluation of battery electric vehicles by potential consumers were explored and assessed. The experiment showed that short test drives with battery electric vehicles are a suitable means to support the widespread promotion of electric cars [13].…”