Low Emission Vehicles (LEVs) represent a car classification which utilizes advancements in automotive technology to address policy objectives associated with energy security and greenhouse gas emissions. The effectiveness of LEVs at addressing these objectives will not only depend on their technical performance but also on their levels of adoption by consumers. With LEVs encompassing cars which are significantly different compared to conventional market options, the understanding of consumer response to these vehicles remains limited. This thesis addresses this limitation in existing knowledge by providing a detailed examination of consumer demand for LEVs in the UK. Through the application of psychometric methods, this thesis assesses the influence of socio-psychological constructs over LEV preference. A bespoke conceptual framework has been developed to provide insights regarding the influence of attitudes, emotions and values. This framework was applied to the design of a self completion household questionnaire distributed over the cities of Newcastle upon Tyne and Dundee. The meanings placed on car ownership are measured alongside the concept of innovativeness to determine if these traits are likely to hinder or advance LEV adoption. Additionally, past research has tended to consider consumer demand for LEVs at a market level perspective with little attention given to social stratification. This thesis advances knowledge in this area by producing a structural analysis of the emerging market for LEVs. Noteworthy consumer segments are identified, described and compared according to their socio-psychological profiles, socio-economic characteristics and LEV preferences. Principle results of the thesis are that socio-psychological constructs account for a greater degree of variance compared to socio-economic characteristics when explaining evaluations of LEVs. The propensity to consider cars through symbolic, emotive and functional meanings tends to decrease assessments made concerning the functional capabilities of LEVs. The concept of innovativeness displays a positive influence over preferences towards LEVs indicating that these vehicles are being considered as innovations. Moreover, heterogeneous consumer segments with unique socio-psychological and demographic profiles are emerging in the LEV market. These segments display a range of LEV preference structures from those which hold high preferences and are likely to characterize early adopters to those which exhibit low preferences and are likely to represent non-adopters.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:589499 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Morton, Craig Lee |
| Publisher | University of Aberdeen |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=202779 |
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