Resumen de Exploring consumer perceptions of engine technology in vehicle purchase decision-making

Álvaro Fernández, Álvaro Sáiz Sepúlveda, Beatriz Rodríguez Herráez, Jose Ramon Saura Lacarcel

• Objective: This empirical study is designed to quantify the impact of uncertainty factors on consumer decision-making regarding the choice of engine type and its subsequent effect on the anticipated decision to defer the purchase of a new vehicle. These influences are assessed and mediated by the consumer’s perception of technology.

  Methodology: A structural conceptual model, based on the literature and the TPB and TAM approaches’ review, has been evaluated with a sample of 400 respondents through Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) including an MGA analysis to determine mediating effects.

  Results: The results confirm that consumers develop uncertainty about the adopted policies and strongly influence the perception of the type of engines (technology) available in the market. Thus, consumers prefer to post-pone the decision to buy a new vehicle.

  Limitations: This empirical research should be made extensive to other regions to wider approaches. Ass future research lines, getting deeper into consumer perception on mobility policies to understand the reasons behind the demonstrated uncertainty would provide useful insights to governments to allow them to adapt policies to the socio-economic context.

  Practical implications: The findings suggest that governments need to re-evaluate their mobility policies, as theoutcomes of these policies are counterproductive to the intended objectives. The current policy framework leads consumers to delay upgrading their older vehicles, resulting in an aging fleet that exacerbates the sustainability challenges in terms of CO2 emissions.