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Imagine people widely using smartphones and laptops in the 1980s, colour TVs in the 1950s, or motor cars in the early 1900s. These technologies were regarded as futuristic concepts at first, but eventually became the way of life.

Similarly, the idea of operating a vehicle using electricity was conceived in the 19th century. Unfortunately, the concept did not progress beyond just being an amusement or as they say a parlour trick—“Look! No horse or ox, yet it moves!’’. Yet, after several ups and downs, when electric vehicles (EVs) subsequently entered the automobile market as an alternative to internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs), they failed to penetrate the market due to multiple reasons.

With rising fuel prices and environmental concerns over the last few years, the automobile industry witnessed the return of EVs (electric vehicles) by new entrants such as Tesla painting a unique picture for the automobile sector with their high-performance EVs that use advanced technology.

This led to a disruption in the automobile sector causing dominant automobile brands to rethink their strategy and evolve. But the big question is, has the industry and brands been able to address the consumer concerns associated with EV adoption?

Hence, Borderless Access conducted a study across 13 markets [US, UK, Germany, France, India, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, UAE, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Nigeria, and Brazil] to unlock the evolving behaviour, brand preferences, and factors influencing the attitudes and perceptions of EV owners. The insights here would also highlight the opportunities for brand marketers and how can they help drive EV adoption to gain a bigger market share for their brand.

Purchasing a vehicle is a crucial decision that a consumer makes. Commonly such a decision-making process starts with the financial aspects of the purchase in consideration. Then where does the consideration of automobile safety features come in the process? How much importance does a consumer give to safety ratings before purchasing a vehicle? This is especially important in developing markets where automobile safety standards are only now improving and several safety features are generally not offered as a standard option, making consumer knowledge and decision-making all the more critical.

In an ideal world, the topic of automobile safety standards would be a non-contentious one, with the highest possible universal safety standards across all vehicle segments. Unfortunately, vehicle safety standards have been lower than desired in several developing countries for a long time.