Analyzing the factors that influence Chinese consumers׳ adoption of the biodiesel: The private vehicles owner׳s investigating in Beijing

The purpose of the research is to study consumers׳ attitudes towards biodiesel implementation in China. In the paper, authors analyzed the future trends of diesel demand and revealed the prospects of biodiesel in China. And a comprehensive survey has been conducted for 226 private diesel vehicle owners (drivers) in Beijing. The questionnaire survey method is used to collect information, including respondents׳ viewpoints on fuels selection, biodiesel quality, biodiesel price and related policies. Furthermore, authors applied Structured Equation Modeling (SEM) to analyze the collected data. The results indicate that the most important factor affecting consumers' selection of biodiesel is price. Other significant factors are policy, government incentives and biodiesel quality. Besides, the results also showed that policy and government incentives could affect the price and quality of biodiesel. These results give rise to serious consideration about consumers' preference for and awareness of biodiesel. The research findings will help government and corporations to understand the consumer׳s energy consumption behaviors and improve the further implementation for biodiesel in Beijing.