Electric cars in two different countries Iceland and Kuwait

• Main Author: Ólafur Brim Stefánsson 2000-
• Other Authors: Háskólinn í Reykjavík
• Format: Bachelor Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2024
• Subjects: Viðskiptafræði; Rafbílar; Umhverfisáhrif; Environmental aspects; Business administration; Electric vehicles; Iceland
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1946/47585

One could hardly imagine countries that are as different as Kuwait and Iceland, especially when it comes to the introduction of electric cars. Iceland ranks second in the world in the adoption of electric cars, and Kuwait is among the lowest. The average temperature in Kuwait is the highest in the world and the average temperature in Iceland is one of the lowest. However, this is comparable because the best temperature for electric cars is 25 degrees, when the driver should neither use the heater nor the air conditions as the both use considerable eletricity that depletes the range of the automobile. Iceland and Kuwait are about equally close to this average temperature. In Iceland you almost always have to use a heater and in Kuwait you almost always have to use air conditioning. Both this greatly reduces the range of the car and also the temperature has a great effect on the charging speed and capacity. The thesis is based on comparing electric car´s adoptation in these two countries, Kuwait and Iceland. One country is rich in oil and the other one in electricity. The comparative number of electric cars in these countries will be discussed and the ratio of electric vehicles (EV) against the internal combustion engine cars (ICE), how many cars are imported to these countries and what the future will look like for electric cars. The impact of EVs on the environment, pollution and climate will also be discussed. In Kuwait, there is a lack of customer attitude towards electric cars and the environment, while it is the opposite in Iceland. The same applies to other Gulf Cooperaton Council Countries (GCC) countries. The social attitude towards electric cars and the use of electric cars in the GCC is lower than in Iceland and as a result it is examined how electric cars can be better marketed in these Middle Eastern countries (Banna et al, 2023). The research question in this study is what does Iceland and Kuwait have in common, what is different between these two countries and what can Kuwait learn from Iceland ...