Analysis of the Technical and Commercial Factors That Influence the Acquisition of Hybrid Vehicles in the City of Guayaquil

Urban air pollution and emission reduction commitments have stimulated interest in cleaner vehicle technologies in Latin America, yet hybrid vehicle penetration in Ecuador, particularly in Guayaquil, remains limited. This study analyzes technical and commercial determinants of purchase intention using a mixed-methods design that combines a survey of 384 consumers with interviews of 20 dealership representatives. Within this male-dominated sample, Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients (ρ) (all two-sided tests yielded p<0.001) indicate that technical attributes show stronger associations with purchase intention than commercial variables: technology and performance (ρ=0.65) and maintenance (ρ=0.61) are the most influential, followed by Social Influence (ρ=0.53); public policies (ρ=0.48) and purchase price (ρ=0.45) display moderate effects. Overall, 51.5% of respondents report a favorable intention to purchase a hybrid vehicle in the short to medium term. Interviews confirm an information gap on tax incentives at the point of sale and underscore the potential of financing schemes to mitigate upfront cost barriers. Findings suggest that, in this market, narratives emphasizing long-term operating savings and reliability are more persuasive than generic sustainability messages. We discuss implications for dealership communication, targeted credit programs, and public policy instruments with information campaigns to accelerate sustainable mobility transitions in urban Ecuador. While price is widely cited as decisive (84.2%), variation in technical attributes explains more of the variation in stated purchase intention than price within our sample. The survey sample was collected at an auto show and dealerships and is predominantly male (87.5%). Thus, results describe a male-skewed subset of potential buyers and should not be generalized to households or the broader consumer base.