Consumer Perception towards Electric Vehicle - with special reference to Chennai city

Every industry has been modernized through technological innovation. The auto industry is also impacted in a similar
way. In order to prevent global warming and climate change, the Indian government mandates that people move from internal
combustion to electric automobiles. This is because electric vehicles are the future. The automobile manufacturers slowly shifting
their production from tradition automobiles to electric one. By 2030, Government of India plans to have majority of electric vehicle
in India. The government also motivate the people by providing incentives and tax benefits. If automobiles are electrified, even the
import of fuels will be reduced. The high price of gasoline and environmental concern might be few reasons which intends public
to adopt electric vehicle. The present study throws a light on consumer awareness towards electric vehicle and it also tries to
identify the factors that influence the consumer perception towards Electric Vehicle. This study uses a descriptive approach to
gather information from consumers by using a structured questionnaire. For the purpose of the study, 123 samples are collected
from the Chennai city. The information gathered will be then analyzed to determine the expected outcomes of the study. The findings
of the study will be beneficial to the government, automotive manufacturers, dealers and marketer. In this study, the researchers found that young females were major respondents. Nearly 87% of them were aware about Electric Vehicle and they get to know about Electric Vehicle through Social Media platforms followed by Television, Friends & Relatives. The First Factor is Conducive Factor. It shows that consumers were motivated by certain factors such as Easy to drive,
Environmental Friendliness, Reduced dependence on Fossil Fuels, Government Incentives & Tax Benefits and therefore these
variables create positive perception among the consumers to adopt Electric Vehicle.
The Second Factor is Hindering Factor. It shows that the consumers were discouraged by the certain factors such as Lack of
charging station, Maintenance cost, Price of the Vehicle, Inconvenience to use for longer distance and these variables create negative
perception about Electric Vehicle among the consumers. The findings revealed that there is significant relationship between age group and the conducive factor affecting consumers'
perceptions toward electric vehicles. And found that, Conducive Factor highly influences the young adults followed by other age
groups. Since, young adults are the future pillars of the society, they are having positive attitude towards Electric Vehicle and it is
believed that they may adopt Electric Vehicle in the future.
India's EV drive will open up a lot of business opportunities in the mobility, infrastructure, and nd energy sectors if electric vehicle
automobiles take off. And now consumers are switching from fuel-powered automobiles to electric vehicles.