3. DATA AND METHODOLOGY
The data for this study come from an internet-based questionnaire survey containing questions
about vehicle attributes, EV purchase intentions, attitudes to transportation and environmental
consciousness, and household characteristics. The surveys were conducted in Aichi prefecture
from December 13 to 14, 2010 and in Gifu and Mie prefectures from January 16 to 17, 2011.
These regions represent mixed urban and suburban neighborhoods and include the Chukyo
Metropolitan Area, which is Japan's third most populous metropolitan area after the Greater
Tokyo Area and Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto. They account for roughly 7% of Japan's population.
Altogether 2,060 surveys from Aichi prefecture and 1,043 surveys from Gifu and Mie
prefectures were completed by householders, for a total of 3,103 responses. After removing
invalid responses from the sample, the number of completed surveys dropped to 3,097