Why Polish market of alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) is the smallest in Europe? SWOT analysis of opportunities and threats

Abstract

A holistic approach regarding the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) of the sector of alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) in Poland, with particular regard to passenger electric vehicles (EVs), has been proposed to explore and evaluate the current state and to propose some future actions lines towards sustainable development in transportation. The most important problems faced currently by the Polish EVs market include unstable and unclear regulations that may discourage both: producers and buyers from engaging in this market segment. Secondly, the much higher prices of EVs in comparison to the conventional vehicles together with many unsolved issues with the batteries and charging stations belong to the most significant barriers of adoption. The formulated portfolio of actions towards enabling sustainable development of transportation in the segment of passenger vehicles proposes the implementation of mini-maxi strategy that would minimize the current weaknesses by maximizing the potential opportunities of the market.

How Much Polish Consumers Know about Alternative Fuel Vehicles? Impact of Knowledge on the Willingness to Buy

“…We noticed that the price of AFVs offered on the Polish market is too high for the average person interested in buying a car. This is demonstrated by the large difference between the declared willingness to pay of the respondents for a car (Figure 4) and the offer of AFV dealers [29].…”

“…There are over 80 models from various segments on the Polish market. Urban crossovers and SUVs are leading the way [29]. It happens, however, that the availability of some models is limited.…”

“…There is still lack of state support for potential AFV buyers in the form of appropriate subsidies. A detailed analysis of the AFV market in Poland is presented in [29].…”

“…Literature review reveals that limited awareness, knowledge and interest among consumers towards an innovation leads to concerns regarding the acceptance of the same (see some examples from the energy market [65][66][67][68]). Customer concerns regarding AFV include high initial investment cost, unclear environmental impact in case of a battery and its storage, lack of sufficient charging stations and many others [20,29]. Such uncertainty regarding AFV may become a barrier to widespread adoption.…”

“…This is definitely not enough for any new alternative fuel vehicle. The average price of an electric car varies between 35,000 and 45,000 Euro but there are also cars with a price higher than 90,000 Euro (see [29] for more details). The mean value of the willingness to pay in the case of leasing a car is 1775 PLN with a standard deviation of 1549 PLN.…”