Analyzing the potential market for hybrid cars : a survey of car dealers in Mauritius

Purpose - The aim of the study was to know how car dealers view the car market in Mauritius and what are their opinions and attitudes towards the introduction of the hybrid car in the economy. Design/methodology/approach - After conducting a thorough literature review, a descriptive research design was adopted to carry out a quantitative study. The methodology used in this study consisted of a survey carried out amongst car dealers in Mauritius. There were 59 authorized car dealers for second hand cars and 14 dealers of brand new cars in Mauritius at the time the study was performed and personal interviews were held with all the car dealers. The data were collected and analysed using SPSS. Findings - The car dealers expressed their optimism regarding the many benefits consumers will gain from hybrid cars given the soaring prices of fuel these days but thought the car was affordable to only a minority of the customer market. They also thought the government and politicians would be the key players to promote any new technology. Originality/value - The contribution of this study is that it surveyed car dealers’ views regarding the introduction of the hybrid car in a developing country. It can be a valuable study for Mauritius and other countries which have not yet introduced the new technology locally. Moreover, there are few academic papers on the marketing of the hybrid car and this study thus hopes to contribute to the scanty literature.