South-east Queensland motorists are invited to sign up for a free test drive this weekend of one or more of 10 all-electric cars and a variety of other low-emission vehicles at a QUT co-sponsored event on the Gold Coast.
So far, the all-electric and hybrid cars are the most popular and account for more than 50 per cent of the bookings so far for the three-day GreenZone Drive* event at Royal Pines resort.
QUT's Professor Simon Washington is leading one of the research programs funded by the Auto CRC (Cooperative Research Centre), which will investigate factors influencing Australian motorists to buy cleaner cars.
As part of this research program, QUT is helping to provide opportunities for Queenslanders to test drive alternatives to conventional cars.
QUT will survey the test drivers on their perceptions of these vehicles compared with their usual cars and Professor Washington will deliver a keynote address to kick off the event.
"Our research seeks to understand drivers' motivation for and barriers to purchasing low-emission cars such as electric, hybrid-electric or other alternative fuel vehicles," Professor Washington said.
"We need to investigate and understand a whole range of factors that influence the uptake of more environmentally 'friendly' cars."
"We will consider aspects such as price of the vehicle and ongoing costs such as fuel and maintenance, household demographics, and mobility needs and availability, as well as attitudes toward alternative technologies to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the potential uptake of more sustainable vehicles."
"Our overall aim is to support Australian consumers and vehicle manufacturers in the transition to greener vehicles."
The AutoCRC is a five-year $100 million R&D program with 30 different research projects to support the Australian Automotive industry, involving car companies, universities around Australia and the Commonwealth Government.
GreenZone Drive is a national event previously held in Melbourne and Adelaide which has hosted more than 2000 clean vehicle test drives in Australia
*The Queensland GreenZone Drive starts on Friday 10 August and runs until Monday 13 August. To book go to http://www.greenzonedrive.com.au/ and click on the car you would like to test drive.
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Media contact: Niki Widdowson, QUT media, 3138 2999 or n.widdowson@qut.edu.au.
