汽車外觀設計與消費者認知之研究

Abstract

在消費者導向的時代，瞭解消費者，發掘並滿足消費者複雜而眾多的需求，是當今企業所努力去追求的。科技的日新月異，讓產品品質達到一定的水準，當產品品質不再是消費者所需考慮的購買要項時，產品應如何在眾多類似的產品當中脫穎而出，成為消費者的首選？由於網路的興起，資訊流通已多元化，不再局限於平面媒體，廣告的效益似乎有限。有學者指出，當製造技術達到一定水準，用來區分產品的行銷手法，就是產品設計。產品的設計能創造出產品的高附加價值，讓產品產生差異性，以吸引消費者。 綜觀汽車的發展，已超過百年的歷史，從第一台汽車的發明，到現今一年平均逾百款車種的銷售。製造技術的成熟，不但讓汽車的品質穩定，也降低汽車的製造成本。消費者購買能力增加，開始重視休閒娛樂，汽車已不再是奢侈品，而是生活行動上的必需品。再者，女性車主購買力的增加，也是眾製造商想要搶攻的市場。因此，當今汽車廠商正在努力的目標，就是如何創造汽車的差異化，藉由設計來創造汽車的高附加價值，以滿足不同消費群的需求，進而吸引消費者購買。 本研究主旨於探索汽車外觀設計如何影響消費者知覺，汽車外觀是否已成為消費購買汽車的重要因素，與是否不同的消費族群，對於不同設計外觀的汽車，會有不同認知及偏好？透過問卷調查與統計分析，本研究發現：消費者相當重視汽車外觀設計，汽車外觀設計儼然成為消費者重要的購車因素之一。研究結果亦發現，不同的消費族群，包括以年齡、所得、教育程度與購車經驗來分析，對於汽車外觀的大小、顏色、外型等等，並沒有特別不同的認知與偏好。但值得一提的是，不同性別的消費者，對汽車外觀的認知與偏好有著顯著的差異，此發現可應用於日後的差異化外觀設計上。

This is a consumer-oriented market. Understanding consumers, exploring needs and thus meeting their diversified needs are all corporations trying to do. With advanced manufacturing techniques, consumers do not need to particularly worry product quality. When products are all made of fair quality, how do corporations differentiate their products and to attract consumers? In addition, internet usage is widespread so information is flooding. Consumers do not need to know a specific product via traditional media such as commercials so traditional media is not as beneficial as before. Some scholars point out that product design has been recognized as a new marketing tool to differentiate products and to enhance the added value. Automobile history has been more than hundred years. From the first car to more than hundreds of them offered on the market, car has faced with the same situation as mentioned above products. Now it is easier for consumers to purchase a car which was a luxury product. Moreover, female drivers increase and due to their buying potential, car manufacturers are endeavoring to offer cars that attract females. This research is to understand the relation between exterior design of the automobile and consumer perception. Through a questionnaire and statistical analyses, the research shows that consumers regard automobile design very important. The research also finds out that consumers with different demographic segmentations such as age, income, education and car-buying experience, do not perceive automobile design differently. However, there are differences between male and female consumers in perceiving automobile design, and the findings can be applied to future exterior design of the automobile.