As traffic congestion and air pollution rise at alarming rates in many cities worldwide, new smart technologies are emerging to meet the urban mobility challenge. In addition, automotive firms have transformed their business models to make them more sustainable and to adjust to demand response. Electric vehicles (EVs) represent a viable option to reduce ecological damage and improve public health. However, in the previous literature, no consensus has been reached on the profile of prospective buyers of EVs. Based on a large-scale sample of Spanish citizens and using cluster analysis, our study provides a better understanding of the demographics of such prospective buyers. We identified four types of EV prospective buyers. Our results show that although men have a strong preference for EVs, low-income older women prove to be the most EV-aware group; their automotive driving experience and concern for sustainability could be among the underlying causes of this particular interest. Another valuable insight is the greater partiality of older people for EVs. These findings have many implications for managers, especially in the automotive industry, policymakers, and sustainability strategists. They show that EV prospective buyers should not be approached as a homogeneous group but as a heterogeneous group with different socio-demographic characteristics that might help decision-makers make better business decisions.

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In 1999 Alfonso de Senillosa, Spanish entrepreneur, after finishing his studies in the United States, decided to create Workcenter SGD. The company was born on the basis of following the same idea and services that Kinko’s® created successfully in the United States, with nearly 1,300 retail stores devoted to reprographic services. Nevertheless, in four years the company went far ahead of the original idea, developing new technologies that helped manage the growth, control operations, and reduce costs. By 2005 the company had grown up to 20 stores all over Spain and Senillosa was celebrating his 38th birthday while deciding his next step in the company’s future leveraging on the technology and operations already designed.

In 1999 Jorge Mata, vice president of Broadvision and former expert in interactive solutions for Banco Santander and McKinsey, decided to leave everything to create MyAlert. The company was born on the basis of offering the same Internet services on the new and growing mobile devices. With a strong financial capitalization after raising more than 50 million euros during the bubble burst, in 4 years the company figures were in the black, and the journey had led to the creation of the European sector of mobile data services market and the European leader in that sector. As Charles Darwin emphasized, if a being wants to survive in a shifting environment, it must evolve at least as fast as the medium itself: Buorngiorno! MyAlert ruled the change.