Why Do People Buy Hybrid Cars?
Why Do People Buy Hybrid Cars?
Consumers are buying increasing numbers of environmentally friendly cars. Increasingly, many of these environmentally conscious consumers choose to purchase petrol-electric hybrid vehicles. In this category of “greener-cars”, Toyota’s Prius model is reported to be the market leader. In 2009-10, it was the best-selling car in Japan, an important leading market for automobile trends (Mick 2010). Sales of the Prius keep growing despite well-publicised quality and safety problems (Mitchell & Linebaugh 2010). In fact, the demand for petrol-electric hybrids is so strong that Toyota has introduced a second and larger Camry branded hybrid vehicle into Australia. Other car manufacturers are following with their own models, indicating that there is likely to be sustained demand for this type of light-duty passenger vehicle.
Toyota markets the Prius as an environmentally better alternative to conventional vehicles because it uses less fuel and has lower emissions. This marketing position appears to appeal to consumers who do not wish to further degrade the environment. It has been suggested that these consumers choose to help by driving a car that is more environmentally friendly (Griskevicius, Tybur & Van den Bergh 2010; Bamberg 2003). Popular sentiment has it that intrinsic motives to preserve the environment are the driving force behind the popularity of these vehicles. This is because consumers keep buying petrol-electric hybrid cars like the Prius even though they cost more then twice the amount of a comparable conventional car. But are intrinsic reasons really why consumers choose to buy a car like the Prius? Are there other reasons behind its popularity?
It has been recognized that encouraging the adoption of environmentally friendly products is a key challenge for the behavioural scientists (Kaplan 2000). This appears to be why there has been a great deal of research into the reasons behind this
Consumers are buying increasing numbers of environmentally friendly cars. Increasingly, many of these environmentally conscious consumers choose to purchase petrol-electric hybrid vehicles. In this category of “greener-cars”, Toyota’s Prius model is reported to be the market leader. In 2009-10, it was the best-selling car in Japan, an important leading market for automobile trends (Mick 2010). Sales of the Prius keep growing despite well-publicised quality and safety problems (Mitchell & Linebaugh 2010). In fact, the demand for petrol-electric hybrids is so strong that Toyota has introduced a second and larger Camry branded hybrid vehicle into Australia. Other car manufacturers are following with their own models, indicating that there is likely to be sustained demand for this type of light-duty passenger vehicle.
Toyota markets the Prius as an environmentally better alternative to conventional vehicles because it uses less fuel and has lower emissions. This marketing position appears to appeal to consumers who do not wish to further degrade the environment. It has been suggested that these consumers choose to help by driving a car that is more environmentally friendly (Griskevicius, Tybur & Van den Bergh 2010; Bamberg 2003). Popular sentiment has it that intrinsic motives to preserve the environment are the driving force behind the popularity of these vehicles. This is because consumers keep buying petrol-electric hybrid cars like the Prius even though they cost more then twice the amount of a comparable conventional car. But are intrinsic reasons really why consumers choose to buy a car like the Prius? Are there other reasons behind its popularity?
It has been recognized that encouraging the adoption of environmentally friendly products is a key challenge for the behavioural scientists (Kaplan 2000). This appears to be why there has been a great deal of research into the reasons behind this