Another challenge for manufacturers and dealers to overcome
Cognitive dissonance arises when we attempt to hold two conflicting thoughts in our mind at the same time. A classic example of cognitive dissonance is the guy who works out at the gym religiously every day to maintain his health but then smokes like a chimney. The idea that he is knowingly doing something to negatively impact his health would cause cognitive dissonance in his mind and you would probably find this individual suggesting that smoking helps keep the weight off, or it helps him relax, or that he really doesn’t smoke that much anyway, as a means of rationalizing behaviour that is clearly contradictory to the outside observer.
Or, let’s take an example closer to home. Buyer’s remorse is an example of cognitive dissonance and it is often associated with a new vehicle purchase. This is because a new-vehicle purchase represents a significant amount of money, the purchase experience usually involves a fair amount of negotiation and – regrettably – car sales professionals still have a largely undeserved reputation of not being entirely forthright.
Many buyers spend more money than they want to on a vehicle, do not negotiate the best price they think they should have been able to, and may feel taken advantage of by the salesperson to boot. All of which threatens their belief about themselves as being a thrifty person with negotiating prowess who can hold their own with anyone.
As a result, such consumers may rationalize that their more expensive vehicle is safer and of much higher quality than the vehicle they went in to the dealership to purchase, and that, while they didn’t get the best price, the service at that dealership is worth a few bucks more. As for the sales rep at the dealership, he was young and you decided to cut him a break as opposed to beating him down for the last few hundred to make the deal work. See how it works?
EVs bring a new challenge
All well and good, but what does cognitive dissonance have to do with the auto industry? Well, it is generally accepted that this year will mark the advent of the electric car into the automotive marketplace with the introduction in Canada of the Chevrolet Volt along with the Nissan Leaf and the Mitsubishi iMev.
However, Mercedes-Benz’s Smart division, got a jump on things by launching the Smart fortwo EV in November of last year and it is the first company to make a completely electric vehicle available to members of the public – albeit only 15. Toyota, Honda and others will follow in 2012 with plug-in hybrids and battery electric vehicles, as will others.
While I am a big fan of electric vehicles, I believe they will represent a significant source of cognitive dissonance for those individuals who might consider purchasing an EV. Consequently, consumer cognitive dissonance represents another challenge for manufacturers and dealers to overcome before EVs will gain a significant foothold in the automotive marketplace.
Consider that another definition of cognitive dissonance is “a psychological phenomenon that refers to the discomfort felt at a discrepancy between what you already know or believe and new information or interpretation.”
What is a car
I think that there is a lot upon which we can all agree that people generally associate with what a “car” is.
It has an engine. The engine is powered by a flammable liquid hydrocarbon fuel. Depending on the vehicle, you can drive between 500 and 1000 kilometres on tank of fuel. You can purchase this fuel pretty much anywhere you drive, pretty much whenever you need it, and it takes about five to ten minutes for you to fill up your fuel tank. Your vehicle’s engine makes noise when it is running and it makes more noise the more fuel that is delivered to the engine, which is then translated into power at the wheels. The engine noise and the power it represents is viewed as a desirable attribute in a vehicle for many – mostly young men – when they go to purchase a vehicle.
So how does an EV “fit” with what we normally associate with what it means to be a car? Well, in a pure EV the vehicle has no engine but rather a battery and one or more electric motors that power the wheels. There is virtually no noise from the battery or the motor. The vehicle is powered by stored electricity in the battery, which must be charged by plugging in the vehicle, usually for a period of eight hours or more to achieve a full charge using normal 110-volt service. The charging time can be cut down to two to three hours using 220-volt service. On that full charge the vehicle will be able to travel around 160 kilometres or less and the purchaser would ideally need to have ready access to a 220-volt charging station to recharge the battery in the least amount of time, which would still necessitate having the consumer do something else for two or three hours while the battery recharges.
Therefore, even if you have an urban commuter who fits the demographic for an electric vehicle, there will still be a number of mental hoops through which that consumer’s mind must jump to be comfortable with an electric vehicle, accepting that they are able to get over the price premium (even with incentives some governments are making available) and the limited range.
There are certain things that we just normally associate with a “car” and resolving the cognitive dissonance between a vehicle with an internal combustion engine and one with a battery and a motor will be an absolute necessity if EVs are ever going to be more than just niche vehicles.
