DETERMINANTS OF THE INTENTION TO USE A NATURAL GAS VEHICLE (NGV) AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO A PETROL CAR

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to examine the intention of vehicle owners to use NGVs as an alternative to petrol cars in Malaysia. Signifcant amounts of evaporated carbon dioxide (CO2) cause global warming and the transport sector is one of the major contributing segments of the economy. The transport sector demand for petrol is increasing worldwide, which suggests the need for an alternative fuel vehicle (AFV). Among AFVs, the NGV has less CO2 emission to the environment. For Malaysia, which is endowed with natural gas reserves, the use of NGV is a potential alternative policy strategy for reducing CO2 emissions and reducing petrol usage. A total of 152 respondents who were either vehicle owners or car drivers were posed with combination of options for the usage of NGVs as an alternative to petrol cars and the experimentally designed questionnaire was adopted in the study to analyze the data using conjoint analysis for multidimensional scaling method. Results indicate that while a growing number of vehicle owners are willing to switch to NGV, their choice is influenced by an available government subsidy, safety and security measures and the availability of NGV refueling stations. The implication of the fndings is that there is the need for the Malaysian government to implement decisive energy policies for NGV usage to lower the amount of pollution and minimize the impact of volatile global oil prices on the Malaysian economy.