A Review of the Article “Unearthing the Factors Behind Adoption of Electric Cars: An Indian Perspective

 The article entitled “Unearthing the Factors Behind Adoption of Electric Cars: An Indian Perspective” by Ajay Chandel, Assistant Professor, Mittal School of Business, Phagwara, Punjab, Published in Indian Journal of Marketing, 2023 Edition. This article is based on the research conducted from March 2022 to May 2022 in Phagwara, Punjab.

The study is more interesting and relevant in the sense that India is Fourt largest automaker in the world (In January 2022, 1,860,809 passenger vehicles, three-wheelers, two-wheelers, and quadricycles were manufactured), India is 13^th  of the world's 20 most polluted cities, India has the world's highest PM1.0 and PM2.5 levels (The capital city Delhi's air is with PM2.5 levels is six times higher than the WHO's "safe" limit of 25 µg), In India, 1.3 billion people are affected by air pollution, India's air pollution is responsible for 1.2 million deaths annually and the Petroleum imports are at the highest level.

India plans to cut pollution, fuel imports, and vehicle prices by having an entirely electric automobile fleet by 2030. A policy promoting e-production and adoption is being developed by the Ministry of Heavy Industries and NITI Aayog. (Oil imports will cost $60 billion less as a result). This will limit infrastructure growth and reduce emissions by 37%. The market for EVs in India is expected to increase from $3.21 billion in 2022 to $113.99 billion in 2029.

Thus, this study aims to understand the factors influencing consumer preference and acceptance of EVs. In the study two objectives are set by the researcher they are;

(1) Exploring the factors influencing the adoption of electric cars among Indian consumers.

(2)  Identifying and investigating differential utility respondents might draw from a combination of select product attributes that can help EV manufacturers better address consumer preferences as the final offering.

 

Exploratory research is used at the beginning of the study to find the factors affecting the purchase of EVs, for this 250 car owners were selected on the basis of the judgement sampling method.

The researcher designed two questions the first one using the Likert Scale to know the awareness level of EVs and the second one an open-ended question to state the factors which the respondents consider while purchasing electric vehicles. Environmental factors, Government Aid and Infrastructure, Perception of Economic Benefit and Performance are the four major factors selected.

The study pointed out that Environmental factors are influencing consumer preference and acceptance of electric cars had a high factor loading. 87% of Indians would buy an electric car if it reduces air pollution. Increasing awareness of air pollution among Indians and massive investments by automakers have boosted the Indian electric vehicle market. The Indian government is developing a cost-effective private and public charging station network and the Indian government is also working to create a comprehensive EV ecosystem.

A descriptive study was conducted in the second stage with 300 employees, (selected from IT field  based on convenience sampling) to find the best combinations of EVs. Three attributes- Price of the car, recharge time and driving range after a single recharge are selected. A ranking question with nine combinations was given to the employees. Conjoint analysis was applied to find the most utilitarian electric car attribute combinations.

The most preferred three combinations on the basis of preference are;

1)    Price ₹ 12-25 lakhs with 0-2 hours recharge time and cover above 250 Km in a single recharge.

2)    Price above ₹ 25 lakhs with 2-6 hours recharge time and cover 150- 250 Km in a single recharge.

3)    Price ₹ 1-12 lakhs with 6 hours recharge time and cover below 150 Km.

 

The whole study concluded that; EVs have captured the attention of the global automobile industry as the Government of India is pushing for complete electrification as early as 2030, much is happening in the Indian electric car segment. Almost 40% of Indian car users want to pay less for an EV and Only 15% of Indian car users are willing to pay more. The majority of them opinioned that an electric version of a car is priced at least 25% more than that of a similar petrol or diesel version so measures should be adopted to reduce the price of EVs. Electric Vehicles awareness level is comparatively low among Indians.

The major limitations of the study are;- that the study was conducted in a limited area only, hence it cannot be generalized. Three product attributes price, recharge time and driving range were only used to study utility and the study is cross-sectional in nature.

Future studies can be conducted on a longitudinal basis using a diverse set of populations from various states of India by including more attributes that can generate more generalized findings. Such studies will be more beneficial to the Government and Automakers.

Ms. Sajna Mini Mol, Assistant Professor of Commerce, Al Shifa College of Arts and Science, Kizhattoor, Perinthalmanna