This means that insight into consumer perceptions and acceptance of alternative fuel vehicle conversion car is still limited. The studies showed that the consumer comes into contact with alternative fuel conversion of vehicles in different ways, mainly through direct user experience before they decide to switch to alternative fuels. With a long history of safety in using alternative fuel car worldwide and successful publicity and public perception has been positively first developed in European countries.
Thailand has been developed since 1984 to use alternative fuel vehicles mainly for reducing emissions in the Bangkok area in the early stage of bringing a developed technology to the Thai market. From the issue mentioned above, a fuel price incentive has made it more attractive for vehicle owners to convert or replace existing vehicles with alternative fuel vehicles. Although, rising fuel prices are taking a bite out of everyone's budget and the economic consequences have pushed "Alternative Fuel Car" technology into the mainstream.
The problem with alternative fuel vehicles is that most people have no idea how cars and alternative fuel vehicle systems work in the first place. It appeared that economic benefit due to lower fuel costs was the main driver for almost all the participants using LPG as an alternative fuel vehicle. There is a widespread literature on analyzing the reasons for purchasing a CNG vehicle in Colombia in a period where alternative fuel vehicles were subject to high subsidies.
Performance and Safety
Braimah and Tweneboah-Koduah (2011) studied Ghanaian consumers and found low awareness of green marketing issues that influenced consumers' purchase decision. Another interviewee was concerned whether the LPG engine would negatively affect the car's performance. Other concerns were related to the high pressure in the CNG tank and the refilling process.”
There is a general consensus in the literature that customers feel that converting to alternative automotive fuel not only involves purchasing the product itself, but they also purchase services at the same time (Sourabh, 2011) and also (Smeltzer and Ogden, 2002 ) argued that buying services is more difficult than buying goods in terms of supplier, due to different reasons from different fields. If a service is characterized by the following, it is likely to be perceived as professional by consumers (Thakor and Kumar, 2000): (a service) involves a large amount of expertise; is seen as crucial; Professional service providers are extremely dependent on their ability to attract, mobilize, develop and transform the knowledge of highly skilled employees to create value for their clients (Løwendahl et al., 2001).
Cherian and Jacob (2012) found that consumers have low awareness and still do not focus on the development of fuel-efficient vehicle products because consumers have a lack of knowledge. Again, several issues and challenges have been identified by various researchers regarding fuel-efficient vehicles (Welling and Chavan, 2010). They noted that practicing green marketing may initially prove to be a costly exercise as it encourages green products/services and green technology. (purchase of new technology or adaptation of existing technology), green energy/energy that. It also requires the manufacturers to comprehensively communicate the presence and benefits of fuel-efficient vehicles to the customers through various tools available for integrated marketing communications.
It is difficult to make direct comparisons of the identified studies because they analyze consumer attitudes and behaviors in a variety of conditions that need to be taken into account. For example, the countries where the user studies were conducted differ in terms of the range of models available on the market, the price of LPG and CNG, the infrastructure and the ratio of gas vehicles to refueling sites that offer gas, the costs of conversion or additional costs. for buying a gas. The concepts described in this section will be used in the remainder of this paper to structure the findings from the literature.
Based on the literature review above, four factors representing consumer purchase intention and attitude toward alternative automotive fuel were identified, namely: economic advantage, environmental advantage, reference (experts, friends, and relatives), and performance and safety. The reference group is also likely to play a role when potential users are evaluating the possibility of converting their car to an alternative automotive fuel.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Data Collection
Discussion and Research Questions
How does the increase in the retail price of diesel affect your motivation to convert your car to alternative fuel? In your opinion, what is the difference between LPG/CNG conversion car and normal car in terms of safety and performance. In your opinion, what are the most important sources of information accessed before the decision to purchase the automatic alternative conversion.
Furthermore, they allow respondents to express themselves more openly and encourage respondents to provide information, including their ideas, concerns, feelings and share their own experiences.
Methodology Interviews
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
- Economic Advantage
- Environment Advantage
- Reference Group (Expertise, Friends and Others)
- Performance and Safety
- Limitations
Environmental advantage does not play the important role of consumer purchase of alternative fuel vehicle, which is in contrast to the literature stated that environmental friendliness was the important reasons to convince the consumer to convert from gasoline to LPG/CNG alternative fuel vehicle . Most of the interviewees perceived that there is no effect and difference between the use of gasoline vehicles and alternative fuels. Using gasoline or alternative fuel vehicles is anyway creating air pollution in the environment, so why bother."
From the discussion with most of the interviewees, they provided more insight into the issue of understanding the general attitude of Thai consumers towards the alternative fuel vehicle conversion kit. The obvious result shows that Thai consumers are very suspicious of the environment friendly LPG/CNG alternative fuel. It also reinforces the finding that Thai consumers are very skeptical about the green and alternative fuel vehicle conversion kit.
From the researchers and literature conducted mainly in the developed countries, it is observed that there are several factors that have a significant influence on consumers' perception and attitude towards alternative fuel vehicle conversion kit. Before the transferability of the results of this paper to alternative fuel vehicle conversion kit in Thailand can be discussed, it is necessary to point out the limitations of our empirical data. Since the reference group and gas price increase in Thailand play a decisive role in consumer perception of alternative fuel vehicle conversion to LPG and CNG, the results of this study cannot be applied to other countries.
In the case of alternative fuel vehicle conversion, there are various interesting findings that can potentially contribute to the future study of alternative fuel in the alternative fuel vehicle conversion equipment industry in Thailand. Therefore, the recommendation in this chapter is exclusively for vehicle manufacturers in this particular alternative fuel vehicle conversion kit business in the Thailand market. Further, they will have to aggressively market the AFT conversion kit products and also tie up with vehicle manufacturers at the Original Equipment (OE) level and at the vehicle dealer level.
Auto manufacturers and auto dealers in Thailand should carry out heavy campaigns to encourage consumers to benefit from the use of alternative fuel with knowledge on the conversion of alternative fuel vehicles, because most consumers in Thailand are not sure about the performance and safety of alternative fuel. vehicle conversion kit. Because, consumers are still undecided whether to convert their car to use LPG & CNG alternative fuel. All of these will have a negative impact on the success of the alternative fuel vehicle conversion kit in Thailand.
If they are not convinced of the quality of the alternative fuel vehicle, they remain suspicious and will not convert their car and use alternative fuels LPG and CNG.
CONCLUSTION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Furthermore, our analysis shows that infrastructural concerns are lowest among those who wish to use an LPG/CNG vehicle with the majority of interviewees not interested in the technology. The reference group had some importance in our studies and literature; it usually ranked second to economic motives. This shows that there may be some potential to motivate people to convert their car into an alternative.
It is therefore likely that reference group has a greater potential to fulfill motive such as showing personal willingness to influence prospective consumer to convert the vehicle into alternative fuels LPG and CNG. Furthermore, our analyzes indicate that experience as communicated by other users appears to be one of the most important factors in boosting the perceived reliability and safety of a technology, which improves its perceived usefulness and ease of use as mentioned above on our finding and discussion result. On this basis, we recommend creating possibilities for informal social interaction around alternative fuel vehicle conversion kit as an important element for successful marketing.
Users with direct experience seem to place a high degree of trust in first-hand information from other users - in this respect, projects such as field trials, which are currently a popular instrument, seem very promising. In addition, the establishment and promotion of Internet forums on alternative fuel vehicles is another way to encourage contacts between users and potential users.
Frost and Sullivan, 2007, Evaluating the Global Market Potential for LPG and CNG Vehicles and Alternative Fuel Conversion Equipment in the OE and Aftermarket, Retrieved from. Retrieved from http://www.tradingmarkets.com/news/press-release/frsu_research-and-markets-executive-analysis-of-global-lpg/CNG vehicles-market-the-focus-on-stringent--1221743. html Frost & Sullivan, 2010). T., 2005, The Curse if Innovation: A Theory of Why Innovative New Products Fail in the Marketplace, Havard Business School, Marketing Research Papers, no.
Retrieved from http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Which-is-better-LPG-or-CNG-30184472.html (Pattanadesh, 2009). Increasing adoption of alternative fuel vehicles supporting the growth of the Indian alternative fuel vehicles (LPG and CNG) market.
