Transforming “Petrol Heads” into Electric Vehicle enthusiasts

What unsustainable behaviour needs to change:

Car manufacturers face significant challenges in reducing emissions, with road transport accounting for 72% of the EU’s transport-related greenhouse gases. In Germany, where company cars make up a substantial portion of the fleet, the shift to electric vehicles (EVs) is particularly challenging.

Despite the clear environmental benefits, traditional brands like Porsche struggle to move employees away from petrol and diesel company cars due to a strong attachment to combustion engines.

The Green Nudge:

Porsche saw an opportunity to align sustainability with its “performance heritage” by encouraging employees to choose electric and hybrid vehicles for their company cars. 

To shift preferences away from traditional petrol and diesel models, Porsche collaborated with academic experts to implement two targeted interventions: personalised email campaigns and pop-up messages in the car configurator. These interventions utilised three types of message framing—emotional, normative, and financial.

Interventions:

• Email Campaigns: Personalised emails were sent just before the car selection period, to highlight the benefits of EVs and nudge employees to choose them.
• Car Configurator Pop-ups: Pop-up messages reinforced the sustainability message whenever employees logged in to select their cars.
  

Message Framing:

• Emotional: “The heart electric, the soul Porsche” linked the brand’s identity to electric mobility.
• Normative: Employees were encouraged to “be ambassadors for a sustainable Porsche future,” aligning choices with company values.
• Financial: Practical benefits, like saving up to €100 per month on fuel costs, were highlighted.

The result: In a test group of 147 employees, the percentage choosing EVs rose from 45.9% in 2021 to 66.5% in 2022 after these interventions were implemented. The results demonstrate that these strategies effectively shifted preferences towards EVs, with email campaigns having the strongest impact. Emotional framing was effective initially but lost influence after two weeks, whereas financial incentives had a more enduring effect.

This case highlights how well-timed, context-specific nudges can drive sustainable choices, even in a company deeply rooted in conventional cars.

Have other nudge ideas for accelerating the adoption of EVs in a company? Feel free to comment or get in touch: hello@green-nudges.com