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Viewing report
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2010 Europe Vehicle Owners' Perceptions of Materials Used in the Production of Vehicles
Frost & Sullivan, Sep 2010, Pages: 138
This study investigates consumers' knowledge and perception of materials used in the production of vehicles. Vehicle owners perceive themselves as having moderate awareness of such materials. Such knowledge is also moderately important. The highest level of importance is placed on structural frame / chassis and engine/drive-train components. The most contributing attributes to rating a material “important” are: reliability / durability and safety rating. A large proportion of vehicle owners still need to be educated with the benefits the various materials. It appears that vehicle owners perceive that the inclusion of 'green' technologies in a vehicle means that important driving / safety features are abandoned for the sake of environment.
This research service titled 2010 Europe Vehicle Owners' Perceptions of Materials Used in the Production of Vehicles assesses EU consumers’ perception of the different types of materials used to manufacture vehicles, including reinforcing fibres, carbon fibres, fibreglass, natural fibres, bioplastics, recyclable plastics, composites, textiles, leather, glass, biolubricants and metals, among others. The research evaluates the image of specific materials, assessing which materials are perceived as the best for use in specific vehicle applications, determining the level of importance vehicle users place on the types of materials used to manufacture different vehicle components and assessing willingness to purchase a vehicle made of more environmentally friendly materials.
Market Overview
More Environment-friendly Cars Can Roll Out if End-user Awareness of Materials Used in Cars Rises
A recent Frost & Sullivan end-user study of 500 vehicle owners who were involved in the decision process of purchasing their vehicle provided interesting facts about varied customer perceptions of materials used in the production of vehicles. Generally, vehicle owners were found to have relatively low awareness of the materials from which their vehicles were made. Moreover, such knowledge is seen as being also only moderately important for the majority. “Overall, vehicle owners are unaware of the specific materials used in their vehicles to help keep them safe, perform well, and maybe even have a lower negative impact on the environment,” notes the analyst of this research. “But, by raising vehicle purchasing consumers’ awareness of new, more innovative materials – especially those that incorporate ‘green’ components, materials manufacturers may garner support needed to get vehicle manufacturers to increase the use of these newer materials in future vehicles.”
End users in the research place the highest level of importance on performance and overall safety features such as engine/drive-train components and structural frame/chassis. The most significant contributing attributes to rating a material “important” are in line with the most important attributes influencing the vehicle purchasing process: reliability/durability and safety rating. Biolubricants emerge as the best known among all the materials surveyed. However, a significant number of vehicle owners have insufficient knowledge of vehicle materials.
“Interestingly, there was a clear trade-off between environmental friendliness and safety/structural integrity or driving performance,” adds the analyst. “It appeared that vehicle owners perceive that the inclusion of ‘green’ technologies in a vehicle meant that important driving/safety features would be abandoned for the sake of the environment.” Such perceptions likely influence the image of ‘green’ vehicles. Vehicle owners want their vehicles to be strong – thus, safe and with good driving performance. Yet, environmental friendliness is taken into consideration for elements unrelated to either safety or driving performance.
“As expected, the group of end users labelled ‘eco-conscious’ were the most promising clients of future, more environmentally-friendly vehicles,” concludes the analyst. “They care about the environment and have less concerns about safety/driving performance issues than other segments. Moreover, they consider environmental friendliness when purchasing a car (although it is not ‘top of mind’).”
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