New joint-research from Macquarie University indicates government incentives for consumers have not been effective in speeding up sales of green cars in four of the world’s major car markets – suggesting such measures will also not necessarily be effective in Australia.
The research, conducted by Macquarie University Business and Economics Associate Professor Chris Baumann and his international team, reveals the driving factor in consumers’ adoption of green cars in Germany, Japan, South Korea and US is their concern for the environment.
The study builds on previous research that has investigated the role of environmental concern, government incentives and, to a lesser extent, environmental image in the adoption of green cars separately, while this study tests these factors in one model.
“Based on our findings, automotive companies should re-evaluate their marketing strategies and make sure products address consumers’ environmental expectations,” said Associate Professor Baumann, who is also a Visiting Professor at Seoul National Univeristy (SNU) in Korea.
“Increasing public awareness of the benefits of green cars or increased R&D incentives from government would be most effective in established markets,” added Baumann.
Despite the adoption of green cars gaining pace internationally, Australian drivers are lagging behind major developed markets when it comes to transitioning to environment-friendly cars. Indeed according to Macquarie Bank, electric cars currently account for 0.1% of the Australian market.
“We can learn from these international findings. It’s an opportunity for Australia to work towards its 2030 climate change target,” added Baumann.
“We can also apply the findings to increase the adoption of other green products like solar panels, waste water systems and geothermal heating and cooling systems in Australia. The combination of an increased uptake of green cars and other green products will help Australia meet its 2030 climate change target faster.”
Baumann, C., Chu, W., Hoadley, S., and Hamin, H., Adoption of Environment-Friendly Cars: Direct vis-à-vis Mediated Effects of Government Incentives and Consumers’ Environmental Concern across Global Car Markets, Journal of Global Marketing, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/08911762.2018.1456597
