Consumer Demand and Behavior

In this subject, research is aimed at providing meaningful insights into differing (across fuel pathways) and changing (over time) citizen/consumer response to different ways of fueling mobility. Consumer perceptions of current transportation issues, such as fuel economy, “green” vehicles, and future trends are analyzed. A variety of investigations into the forces driving markets for alternatively fueled vehicles—such as costs, innovation, and consumer behavior—are actively being studied the Sustainable Transportation Energy Pathways initiative.

Research Leader: Ken Kurani
Graduate Student Researchers: Jonn Axsen, Jamie Davies

Recent Publications

Li, Xuping, Joan M. Ogden, Kenneth S. Kurani (2009) An Overview of Automotive Home and Neighborhood Refueling. Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Davis, Research Report UCD-ITS-RR-09-13

Major Project Areas

Multiple year, large-sample tracking study: Track awareness, knowledge, symbol formation and meaning, and consideration of vehicles, fuels, as well as private and public costs and benefits.
Comparative Vehicle Demonstrations H₂FCV, PHEV, HEV
Fuel economy: What do people know, what do they do?

What are the symbols that excite people: 100+mpg, all-electric range (AER)? Do these symbols motivate different people, or do are they competing symbols among the same people?
How does citizen/consumer response to fuel economy, instrumentation, and new symbols affect the other research areas and relative results across the four energy pathways?

The meaning of “green” or more generally the meaning of any collective good
Mobile electricity: does mobile electricity confer any differential advantage to some energy pathways compared to others?
Fuel availability: how do different refueling/recharging infrastructures affect the relative marketability of vehicles/fuels?

Structure of "Cross-Comparison" in this research

To the extent possible, research activities will be inherently comparative across energy pathways. For example, the multi-year, large sample tracking study will be designed to cover all four energy pathways. Vehicle and fuel demonstrations are planned to present multiple alternatives in a comparative framework.

Fuel economy studies, and in particular studies on the effects of improved driver feedback, will initially be implemented in conventional vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles, which integrate the conventional fuels and electricity tracks. More generally, the effects of instrumentation can be expanded to bio-fuels and hydrogen as funding (and the availability of vehicles) allows. The meaning of green studies will be conducted via STEPS energy research, but again, are likely to be more robust if conducted within a comparative framework.