THE PERCEPTION AND BUYING BEHAVIOR OF INDIANS TOWARDS ELECTRIC CARS

Purpose: The whole world is moving towards sustainable and green alternatives the conventional products. When it comes to mobility, electric cars are seen as a sustainable and green alternative. The study aims to analyze the perception of Indians especially the youth towards electric cars and to find out how likely different factors impact their buying behavior. Design/Methodology/Approach The author has conducted this research by doing a focus group discussion followed by a survey. The study has focused on the effect of different factors such as Price, Battery Warranty, Safety Features, Performance, Charging Time, Running Capacity, Appearance, Comfort Features, Brand, After Sales Service, Current Infrastructure, Celebrity Endorsements, Influence from family or friends, Subsidies from the government and Availability on the buying behavior of the potential customers for Electric cars. Findings The findings of this study are that people are looking forward to more sustainable and greener options when it comes to cars. The majority of the Indian millennials will like to buy a sedan as their preferred electric car and perceive electric cars to better than conventional cars. The customers would like to shell out INR 5 to 10 lacs for an electric car. The buying decision of the customers of an electric car is significantly impacted by Price, Battery Warranty, Safety Features, Performance, Charging Time, Running Capacity, Appearance, Comfort Features, Brand, After Sales Service, and Current Infrastructure. Despite many companies launching electric cars in India, the respondents believe that the current infrastructure is not enough to deal and accommodate electric cars on Indian roads. Around 53.2 % of the respondents who are in the age bracket of 18-25 are very likely to buy Electric Cars in the future. Originality/Value The major contribution of this study is to investigate the perception and buying behavior of the Indians especially the youth towards Electric cars.