Impact of the ECO Sticker on car purchasing decisions of Bangkok Metropolitan consumers

The increase in the automobile production had set the concern to the Thai government to developed policies on fuel economy. Since January 1st, 2016 Thailand has enforced a new excise tax rate for the automobile which changes the method to calculate the excise tax rate from base on engine capacity to base on the carbon dioxide (CO2) emit volume in order to reduce the pollution and also encourage manufacturers and consumers to produce and purchase more efficient vehicles. This CO2 ratings that use for calculating tax rate will be displayed in “ECO Sticker” which is an A4 paper that indicates fuel economy and CO2 rating. Started from October 1st, 2015, the Thai government requires all manufacturers and importers to affix an ECO Sticker on the windshield of all new vehicles for consumers to see and remove it after purchase. This ECO Sticker displays tax rate, and also let the consumer compares vehicle’s fuel economy, carbon dioxide (CO2) ratings, emission standard, safety standard and other information related to vehicle among the vehicles before buying them.The objectives of this research are to evaluate the awareness, understanding, attitudes, and usage of car consumers toward the ECO Sticker and to identify the effect of information on the ECO Sticker to the purchasing decision of car consumers. The target respondents are consumers who live in Bangkok metropolitan area and have purchased the car at least once between January 2016 to now or have plan to purchase within 2019. By using in-depth interviews and questionnaires. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and other appropriate statistical analysis.As a result, awareness of ECO Sticker is very low although it is attached to every new car. “Emission standard” and “safety standard” were the least understandable information on the stickers. Car consumers do not consider the stickers informative when making a car purchase. “Fuel consumption” and “safety standard” are the most useful information as it was standardized and impactful. As the respondents were informed about the stickers, they expressed that they would likely to take the stickers into consideration when making a car purchase.