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.

This perspective is a qualitative meta-analysis study using a critical interpretive synthesis that narrates three future and equally plausible scenarios of social and economic development in the State of Kuwait over the next 15 years. The first scenario follows what we call the ‘Sustainable Growth’ model as defined by the United Nations Development Goals and the Kuwait Vision 2035 presented by the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. As a polar opposite, the next scenario is what we call the ‘Mismanaged Resourced-Based Autocracy’ model, a negative reflection of the worst-case scenario. The third scenario is in between these two, and we call it the ‘Equality of Outcome Between Societal Groups’ model. So as not to lay blame for past actions or point fingers, which could prove counterproductive to a consensus-building process for needed actions, we chose to use the pasts of other countries for future projections for the State of Kuwait. Our search through recent socio-economic pasts revealed that Singapore was the best fit for the first scenario, Venezuela for the second, and Lebanon for the third. All these countries became fully independent at approximately the same time as the State of Kuwait and share many other similarities. The three future projections were used as input variables to the outcome, which was a bottom-up and top-down consensus-making process regarding utilitarian action for Kuwait to be used by Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), Think-Tanks, Development Agencies, the government and the parliament.

Ever since the discovery of oil in 1938, the State of Kuwait has increasingly sought out international brands in the car market due to the high purchasing power of Kuwaiti nationals. However, the makers of electric vehicles (EVs) have not been able to penetrate this market, with the exception of innovators and early adopters. The phenomenon in disruptive innovation theory—called “Crossing the Chasm”—regarding a mass market appeal has not yet occurred in Kuwait. Through deep interviews with 12 Kuwaiti owners of EVs and automotive dealers who sold either EVs or Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs), 10 key reasons for this phenomenon have been previously revealed, which were used to develop an extensive questionnaire. A total of 472 car drivers aged from 18 to 30, identified as the “early majority”, completed the questionnaire to achieve the objective of identifying the factors required to create a mass market for EVs in Kuwait. The results demonstrated that potential customers highly preferred three different types of attributes of EVs: environmental, financial, and technological. There were significant differences in the identified attributes preferred by Kuwaiti individuals for EVs in terms of the number of cars owned and the sector of employment. Moreover, the results of our study indicate that potential customers are very willing to buy EVs in the future, considering both their financial and infrastructure attributes. There were further significant differences in the identified necessary conditions to buy EVs in terms of educational level and monthly income. This study discusses a variety of valuable promotional tactics, which may be implemented in conjunction with public incentives and policy changes in the State of Kuwait. This information is considered useful for marketers and designers who wish to tap into this lucrative market, which is significantly different from that in the global North.

The automotive industry is at a crossroad. Electric Vehicles (EV) now pose an existential threat to the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE). In some Northern European nations over 50% of new cars sold are EVs, owing in large part to substantial financial incentives to buy and own an EV, such as tax discounts when purchasing an EV, fuel savings, and preferential use of transportation infrastructure. These countries have pledged to cease all imports of non-EVs by 2035. On the other end of the spectrum are Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, where EVs account for less than 1 percent of vehicles on the road, due in large part to financial and non-financial impediments to buying and owning an EV. In addition, the price per kilometer driven in the GCC is considerably lower with gasoline than with electricity, which contradicts the European experience where cost savings from electricity versus gasoline can be around 8 to 1. Furthermore, as there is an absence of purchase and ownership/utilization taxation of vehicles in the GCC, no tax discount can be levied, in contrast to the EV tax incentives common in Europe. This paper explores which qualities of driving and owning an EV in the GCC are necessary to persuade certain kinds of new automobile consumers to pay a higher purchasing price for owning an EV as opposed to an ICE, in spite of higher costs for electricity compared to gasoline per kilometer driven. This pilot study attempts to provide an insight to new car purchasing behavior among consumers in Kuwait via a qualitative innovative approach known as ‘Q Methodology’. Interestingly, the factors that emerged from the research represent three subjective perspectives of new car purchase in Kuwait which were labeled as Factor 1, ‘Value Seeker’; Factor 2, ‘Safety Seeker’; and Factor 3, ‘Performance Seeker’. The study concludes that given financial constraints, the ‘Value Seeker’ group is not likely to become an early adopter of EVs in the GCC region. Conversely, the ‘Performance Seeker’, which includes mainly younger men who are more likely to view the fast acceleration of EVs as a deciding factor, and the ‘Safety Seekers’, who are mainly younger women who would value the environmental aspects of EVs as well as the quiet driving experience and low maintenance requirements are determining factors for EV adoption in the GCC region in the future. Â

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.

Journal of Management Sciences (JMS) is a biannual HEC Pakistan indexed research journal. JMS is a scholarly journal that publishes scientific research on the practice of management and its application in business. It is multidisciplinary in scope and interdisciplinary