Electric vehicles: A strong brand does not necessarily equal revenue

Fulfilling target group requirements is crucial for market success

Owing to a new EU-regulation, car manufacturers have recently been called upon to reduce the average CO2-emissions of their new fleet cars to 130 grams per kilometer by the year 2015, at the risk of potential fines in the billions. Manufacturers with premium ranges especially, with their broad offerings of high performance vehicles, will have difficulty achieving these objectives. Electric vehicles will play a substantial role in meeting these targets. The question, therefore, arises how such e-vehicles need to be conceptualized in order to be preferred by drivers vis-à-vis conventional engines.

According to a current study by the strategy consulting firm, 2hm & Associates, in cooperation with Chair of Marketing at the University of Mainz, a successful design of e-vehicles should orient itself towards the current requirements of drivers. Only such a course of action would enable sufficient market penetration.

Range is important, brand isn’t
By means of a conjoint analysis the appropriate attributes and levels, which are crucial in determining the willingness-to-buy, were identified. The highest level of importance attached to the purchase decision of driv-ers was noted in the “range of the vehicle” (23%). Price of e-vehicles, per-ceived as determinant in the potential buying decision of drivers, was noted at a level of 21%. The type of engine was with 19% at third place, whereby hybrid, as well as electric engine, exhibited the highest relevance. Engine performance showed a similar relevance, whereby values of 140 PS achieved the highest “partial benefit”. Amongst all investigated attributes within this study, “brand” exerted with 18% importance the sligh-test influence on the buying decision.

Attitudes towards environment and innovations are critical
Results for drivers with a high awareness for the environment, however, look different. In this case, the criterion “type of engine” reached the highest score for importance with a result of 21%, the electric engine achieved the strongest score (40%) for “partial benefit.” Conversely motorists with only modest awareness for the environment put the attribute “type of en-gine” in the last place. These drivers consider range and price as more important, with a share of 22%.

It is widely acknowledged that consumers with a high awareness for innovative products are generally more willing to abandon traditional behaviors. A confirmation of this is also found in the evaluation of utility for the e-vehicles: the criterion “range” reached the highest rank, whereas drivers with low willingness to purchase innovative products proclaimed the purchase price as the critical reason for purchase.

Best market chances in middle class
The study clarified the repeatedly posed question, whether an electric engine plays a role especially for the compact car segment. “Results indicate that this is a myth,” says Christian Walka, Partner of 2hm & Associates and initiator of the study.

In a separately asked query regarding the relevance of vehicle category/class for the electric engine, highest importance is measured in the middle segment. Furthermore, drivers from 31 to 50 years of age exhibited the highest willingness to purchase electric vehicles with a conventional design. Therefore, drivers underscore that it is not necessary to implement new designs for electric vehicles.

Orientation of electric vehicles towards target groups
Manufacturers still have a long way to go before they reach the CO2 tar-gets. A suitable offer of e-vehicles with a high consumer acceptance requires a long development period until it reaches market introduction. “As the research of 2hm reveals, a detailed knowledge of the require-ments/demands in the design of an e-vehicle is crucial for the willingness-to-buy”, summarizes Professor Frank Huber, Chair of Marketing at the University of Mainz. In the end, range is not the sole condition for the willingness-to-buy. It is rather the overall package for the respective target group which will determine the market success.

2hm & Associates is an owner-run and internationally operating management consultancy firm based in Mainz, Germany. Over 40 consultants and more than 40 call-center employees represent our proven 360o-Approach of: “Research. Consulting. Implementation.”

Hans Herrmann
2hm & Associates GmbH
Breidenbacherstr. 8-10
55116 Mainz
hans.herrmann@2hm.com
+49/(0)172-59.81.998

This release was published on openPR.