• Energy Research

The adoption of fully battery-powered electric vehicles (EVs) in Kuwait is currently at less than one percent of the population, and hence Kuwait has the lowest index rank among countries around the globe. Effectively, only Kuwaiti nationals have the opportunity to own EVs, as there are no fast direct-current charging stations in Kuwait, and Kuwaiti landlords (expats cannot own real estate) do not allow the installation of EV-charging home wall boxes at their rented properties. Given these facts, this paper only focuses on the preferences of Kuwaiti nationals, even though they only constitute 25 percent of the population of Kuwait. To accomplish the present objectives, a quantitative descriptive method (closed-ended questions) was used to collect data from a sample of 227 Kuwaiti nationals who were representative of the owners of half a million internal combustion engine (ICE) cars and that were categorized as early majority consumers. The findings of the present study indicate that over 50 percent of the respondents would prefer to buy an EV in the following three years when certain criteria were satisfied, including government-controlled pricing policies and recharging point availability, high-speed roads, and free EV-dedicated parking spaces. Furthermore, over 40 percent of respondents stated that they would contemplate purchasing an electric vehicle if the price of gasoline or diesel increased by 19 to 50 percent. The findings also indicated that more than 40 percent of respondents believed that EVs are fire- and crash-safe, and roughly 50 percent of the respondents would be willing to pay between 6 and 20% more for an EV because they believe that EVs are ecofriendlier vehicles and are significantly faster than conventional petrol vehicles. Additionally, respondents rewarded those vehicles with an excellent mark because of their ecological, economical, and technological attributes and benefits.

Although researchers have started to examine the landscape of electric vehicles (EVs) around the world, very little research has examined this phenomenon in Kuwait. In addition, limited research has explored it among drivers. Kuwait constitutes a very promising market for EVs because there is a need to lower GHG emissions and improve the air quality in Kuwait. This study therefore explored the attitudes of conventional car internal combustion engine (ICE) drivers towards EVs in Kuwait, particularly identifying attributes, features, enablers, and barriers of EVs that are considered important by potential consumers in Kuwait. This study utilized a mixed method approach in terms of quantitative data and qualitative data from a sample of 472 drivers to accomplish the main objectives of this study. The study showed that more than half of participants would buy an EV within the next 3 years, and they would buy if several conditions were met. That includes a cheaper purchase price with the assistance of policies controlled by the government along with the availability of suitable infrastructure for EVs relating to charging stations, fast lanes, and free parking spaces. More than 40% of participants would also seriously start thinking about buying an EV if the gas/fuel prices increased by between 50 and 199%. More than 40% of participants thought that EVs are safe in relation to fire and car crashes. Furthermore, approximately half of participants would pay 6–20% more for an EV that is both environmentally friendly and much quicker than gasoline cars. In addition, participants would also prefer EVs over gasoline cars in the future for their environmental, economic, and technological values. More importantly, the study yielded many significant findings, such as the demanded and preferred features of EVs and reflections on the readiness of the Kuwaiti market.

The Middle East, Gulf Cooperation Council Countries (GCC), and Kuwait, in particular, are currently experiencing a similar transition as the USA in the 1970s regarding the empowerment and independence of women, fueled by a declining birth rate from four per women to less than two. In addition, the percentage of women with university degrees has been increasing at a logarithmic rate every decade since the 1960s in the USA and since 1990 in Kuwait, resulting in women comprising well over half of all university graduates. This has led to women obtaining better jobs and enjoying greater independence to make their own decisions. In the 1960s, Toyota and other Japanese car manufactures used this phenomenon to penetrate the US market, with significant success. Their selling points were lower maintenance requirements, higher reliability, safety, better environment friendliness and slicker interior designs, the last being especially adapted to women’s tastes. We believe that Chinese and Korean electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers will employ the same playbook with similar success, as the Middle East accelerates its readiness for the EV mainstream market. In this study, this prediction was supported by a quantitative questionnaire of 234 educated female Kuwaiti drivers from the ages of 18 to 40 in Kuwait regarding their preferences regarding EVs. The findings indicate that potential female buyers favor EVs for their environmental benefits, regardless of their demographics. Moreover, potential female consumers are highly willing to purchase EVs in the future under three conditions: infrastructure availability, environmental development, and affordability. We believe that this group, in particular, will present the greatest opportunity to EV manufacturers over the next 10 years.