2.1. Environment and Sustainable Transportation
Poland is one of the countries where, despite legislative changes and infrastructure development the AFV sector is one of the smallest in Europe [
1]. In Poland there are only 0.2% of all charging points in Europe [
12]. The average growth rate of the charging point network in 2020 was 2% on a month-to-month basis. At the end of the first half of 2020, 1194 (2258 points) public electric vehicle charging stations existed in Poland [
12,
13]. At the same time the legislation framework has changed several times leading to confusion and lack of trust among potentical buyers [
3].
Figure 1 indicates that in many countries there is a much higher percentage of electric cars in the total number of vehicles than in Poland. However, further development of electromobility in Poland is necessary for many reasons. Firstly, the most important one includes a chance to reduce the impact of fluctuations on the crude oil market by decreasing consumption of crude oil for transport purposes, which has positive consequences for people and the environment. Secondly the reduction of air pollution mainly in urban areas due to zero direct emission of electric cars can be very beneficial for the health and quality of life [
9].
One of the recent reports of the Supreme Audit Office (NIK) shows that Poland so far cannot cope with reducing pollution generated by transport [
14]. Eurostat data reveal that although the emissions of carbon dioxide (CO
2) to the atmosphere, generated by passenger transport, are systematically decreasing, this change is slow and does not meet expectations [
15]. In countries like the UK and the US, the transport sector is now responsible for emitting more greenhouse gases than any other, including electricity production and agriculture. Globally, transport accounts for around a quarter of CO
2 emissions.
Meanwhile, according to the World Health Organization air pollution from transport is harmful to human health [
16]. Road traffic is considered to be the most important source of some pollutants (for example nitrogen oxides, benzene and carbon monoxide), which are of great concern with regard to the impact on human health and life. In the last decades emissions caused by the ever-increasing number of cars have been reduced thanks the improvement of the engines, usage of new materials that can also be used in catalysts and are capable of absorbing and products polluting photodegradation [
17], but the problem still exists. Hence protecting the air from pollution is an important element of European environmental policy.
The discussed issue is a part of the real problem of the development of the world economy in accordance with the general principles of sustainable development. These principles were adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015. They established a new global policy framework that sets itself three main tasks to be carried out: (1) eradiating all forms of poverty, (2) fighting inequalities in every aspect of life, (3) combating climate change (UN, 2017). These aims have been divided into 17 intermediate sustainable development goals, including among others point 13. Climate Action, which talks about climate change caused by human activity, in particular greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere caused by broadly understood transport. The strategic long-term vision of the Commission—Clean Planet for All [
18], as well as The European Green Deal [
19] where the importance of sustainable mobility is particularly emphasized, create a roadmap for the further sustainable development. As of today, the EU plans to reduce greenhouse gases in transport by 30% by 2030 compared to 2005. The Commission also reaffirms the key role transport plays in reaching a climate neutral Europe by 2050.
Due to the already mentioned role of micro and medium-sized enterprises in the development of the European economy, it should be assumed that without their involvement and interest in AFV, the wide development of this sector will not be possible. The decisions of microenterprises made by small business owners regarding the purchase of a conventional car or AFV are in line with the broadly understood theory of sustainable development, in particular climate action. Often, the owners of microenterprises in their business activities comply with the principles of sustainable development without knowing it and without defining such a behavior [
20].
2.2. Factors in Making Decisions by Consumers on the AFV Market
The broadly understood market of products and services related to electromobility is a very rapidly growing segment of the economy on a local and global scale. The potential of this market is noticeable and verifiable by the publication of numerous forecasts concerning its development both in Poland [
3,
21,
22,
23,
24,
25] and in the other countries [
26,
27,
28,
29,
30,
31]. It is estimated that around 500 million BEVs will be driving on the roads of the world in 2040. Forecasts therefore indicate that every fourth car will be powered by this technology, and the expected sales of such cars are in the order of 40 million in 2040 [
26].
Although there are studies examining the attitudes and preferences towards AFV among fleet managers in big enterprises [
32,
33,
34,
35,
36,
37], no similar research among microenterprises has been found. As microenterprises are usually family businesses, the decision-making process is closer to the one faced by the households rather than large companies. A number of studies have been proposed in the literature on the factors that may affect the purchasing decisions of consumers regarding cars with an alternative drive [
10,
38,
39,
40]. For instance, studies regarding Spanish consumers indicate that emotional issues, product price, vehicle acceleration and low engine noise have a significant impact on consumer attitudes, which in turn has a positive effect on EV purchasing intentions [
41]. The same study found that quality and social value did not have a positive effect on consumer attitudes. The Polish Economic Institute in its report indicates several aspects that may be important when deciding to purchase an alternative fuel vehicle [
9]. These are both financial, technical and structural factors. These include, among others, government funding for the purchase of an alternative drive car, infrastructure for charging cars while traveling, and operating costs. Importantly, this report also shows a high level of fear of new technology, which is caused by ignorance, lack of information and uncertainty about the economic future.
It seems that despite the existence of incentives to support electromobility, and governments working on such solutions in many others, competition with conventionally powered vehicles is difficult. Consequently, it is expected that the diffusion of cars with an alternative drive other than internal combustion engine will largely depend on subsidies for their purchase or other forms of financial gratification, such as tax reduction [
42] or exemption from parking fees in zero-emissivity zones [
43]. Adler et al. [
44] examined the purchasing preferences for natural gas and hybrid vehicles (NEVs) in California, CA, USA. It was found that the factors that may have an impact on the purchase of such a car are, among others, tax cuts when purchasing vehicles and non-financial benefits facilitating, for example, driving around urban zones.
Although there are studies which indicate that government subsidies may to some extent stimulate the willingness of consumers to buy electric vehicles, the effect is relatively weak [
45]. It also entails the need to introduce stricter CO
2 regulations, which entails costs for the consumer [
46] and technical improvements and public investments in infrastructure [
47,
48,
49]. Ito et al. [
50] in their research even states that in the Japanese market consumers are very eager to pay for infrastructure that allows them to freely charge an electric car anywhere. Vehicle charging is an important problem for many consumers, as revealed for example by some studies conducted in China [
51].
The energy saving and environmental protection belong to the consumers’ motivations to purchase electric vehicles, but at the same time their exact impact on the willingness to pay is ambiguous [
52]. Some authors claim that environmental protection and energy savings belong to the main motivation for purchasing electric vehicles [
51]. Others indicate that environmental awareness is an important aspect in the decision-making process of purchasing a car by consumers, as much as for example the proposed technological solutions for an electric vehicle or access to the charging stations [
13,
53,
54]. On the other hand, however, there are studies that say that environmental protection matters less to consumers than price and performance [
55].
Taking into account the factors influencing the choice of a conventional car [
56,
57], one could risk a statement that the technical aspects of the car [
58,
59], and above all its price, will be of key importance for a microentrepreneur wishing to purchase a car with a drive other than an internal combustion engine. Of course, that would be a big simplification. It turns out that the electric car buyer today is a different consumer than the conventional car buyer. The decision of the private consumer is influenced, among others, by such aspects as monthly income, the number of cars already owned by the family, the comfort of the vehicle, but also care for the natural environment. Information and knowledge about electric vehicles also have a significant impact on the purchasing behavior of consumers [
60,
61]. Consumers seem to prefer to be convinced by objective information, expert opinions, and government policy support, rather than by the feelings of friends and acquaintances—“consumers believe in objective information” [
53,
62]. Although some experts are convinced that the operation of an electric vehicle can be completely emission-free and climate-neutral [
43], close attention should be paid to studies that question whether these green technologies proposed in the automotive industry can actually bring about significant reductions in CO
2 emissions to effectively combat climate change [
63,
64]. On the other hand, Ajanovic and Haas [
11,
65], conducting research in nine cities in different countries on the factors influencing greater public interest in electromobility, proves that all benefits, both financial and prestigious, should depend on the form of electricity production that is beneficial for the environment.
To sum up, there are many factors indicated by scientists and researchers from all over the world and in numerous reports that may have an impact on the increased interest in AFV also in Poland. The most frequently mentioned can be combined into three main issues:
financial incentives—such as, for example, tax advantages, subsidies to buy a car, free parking in urban areas, free charging of the car on the road;
infrastructure improvement—first of all, investments in the expansion of the network of free car charging places;
access to information—in particular, attention should be paid to providing the consumer with expert knowledge on alternative drive cars, as well as information providing legal, price and economic predictability to entrepreneurs.
The current literature findings formed the basis for the development of the questionnaire for this study. It contained a number of questions regarding both the technical and functional characteristics of the car, the method of financing, the amount allocated to the purchase of the car or the way of life related to the broadly understood environmental protection.