Barriers to widespread adoption of electric vehicles: An analysis of consumer attitudes and perceptions
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors identify potential socio-technical barriers to consumer adoption of EVs and determine if sustainability issues influence consumer decision to purchase an EV, and provide valuable insights into preferences and perceptions of technology enthusiasts; individuals highly connected to technology development and better equipped to sort out the many differences between EVs and CVs.
About: This article is published in Energy Policy.The article was published on 2012-09-01. It has received 1207 citations till now.
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TL;DR: In this article , the authors analyzed the Indian road users encouraging and discouraging factors to adopt electric two-wheelers and investigated the application of non-traditional models for estimating mode shift behavior towards E-TW.
Abstract: As per statistics, two-wheeler (TW) alone shares the highest number of vehicle registrations in India, which develops the various transportation-related issues such as traffic conflicts, congestions, and pollutions. Electric two-wheelers (E-TW) are a better alternative to conventional two-wheelers because of their significant advantage in mitigating environmental impacts. But E-TWs are less attractive among road users due to unawareness of the benefits of E-TW. In addition, the traditional methods are less accurate in predicting users' mode choice behavior because of their limitations. Therefore, there is a need to conduct a study to understand the road user's willingness to adopt E-TW and find a suitable method for predicting mode choice behavior accurately. This study analyzes the Indian road users encouraging and discouraging factors to adopt E-TW and investigates the application of non-traditional models for estimating mode shift behaviour towards E-TW. Based on the literature review and expert opinion, a detailed questionnaire form was framed, and a total of 522 samples were collected from four states of India. The data findings show that Indian road users prefer TW compared to public transport, private four-wheeler, paratransit, and non-motorized transport because of its easy to ride, low maintenance, fast and convenient travel nature. The environmental concern of reducing air pollution and lower vehicle operating costs are significant factors that encourage E-TW adoption. However, the non-availability of charging infrastructure, lower speed, higher initial purchase cost, and lack of awareness about EVs are the significant discouraging factors in adopting E-TW in India. Further, Machine Learning (ML) methods were adopted to predict the mode shift behaviour from the fuel based TW to E-TW, and the results were compared with the Binary Logit (BL) method. The model results indicated that Support vector machine predicted the mode shift behavior with the highest accuracy rate compared with other methods such as Artificial Neural Network, K-Nearest Neighbor, Random Forest, and BL. The outcome of this study would help the transportation planner, EV manufacturers, researchers, and policymakers to understand the Indian user's preference to adopt E-TW.
4 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present the current state of electromobility in Poland and Slovakia with an indication of light electric cars BEV and the most important factors stimulating its development.
Abstract: Since the entry into force of the Paris Agreement in 2015, and with the publication of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report on the consequences of 1.5 degrees of global warming, the issue of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in a cost-effective manner and within the timeframe outlined has become a matter of urgency. The transport sector, which accounts for a quarter of total GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emissions in the 28 EU Member States, is no exception. Due to the serious environmental impacts of transport, new mobility concepts are being implemented at both national and international levels. One of these is the large-scale deployment of electric vehicles, including those powered exclusively by Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) batteries. They are quiet and virtually emission-free and, in terms of safety, have the feature that, in the event of an accident, they reduce the risk of detonating the vehicle and of burning or burning out the passengers. This article presents the current state of electromobility in Poland and Slovakia with an indication of light electric cars BEV and the most important factors stimulating its development.
4 citations
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors extracted five main determinants from interviews with 16 experts to understand the drivers and barriers of acceptance of electric vehicles on the employee's level, based on a Grounded Theory approach.
4 citations
24 Jul 2019
TL;DR: The results indicate that the decision triggers are similar for e-vehicle users and combustion engine users, and detour, filling level and price are the most important reasons, while the local services and surroundings are the second most important.
Abstract: Within the transport sector, the use of electric drives and renewable energies can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, in Germany, sales figures of battery electric vehicles (BEV) are far below the expectation. A major barrier is the current state of the charging infrastructure (CIS), which is not perceived to be in line with the demand of potential users. For the future positioning of charging infrastructure, a comprehensive understanding of the charging decision is required. Therefore, both current e-vehicle users and potential future users must be considered. In the present study, a two-step methodological approach was applied to gain a better understanding of the influence of the concrete driving situation on the decision to refuel or charge. Initially, interviews were conducted (N = 18) to identify possible motivational factors for the decision. Subsequently, an adaptive choice-based conjoint analysis was designed and carried out (N = 235). The remaining range, the current price, the necessary detour, the type and familiarity of the surroundings, the type and phase of trip and the service offered on site were thereby included to determine their relative importance for the refueling or charging decision. The results indicate that the decision triggers are similar for e-vehicle users and combustion engine users. For both user groups, detour, filling level and price are the most important reasons, while the local services and surroundings are the second most important.
4 citations
01 Jan 2015
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the impact of various built environment and demographic attributes, including land use balance, employment density, population densities, median age, gender, race, education, household size, and income.
Abstract: Policymakers, transport planners, automobile manufacturers, and others are interested in the factors that affect adoption rates of electric vehicles and more fuel efficient vehicles. Using Census-tract-level data and registered vehicle counts across Texas counties in 2010, this study investigated the impact of various built environment and demographic attributes, including land use balance, employment density, population densities, median age, gender, race, education, household size, and income. To allow for spatial autocorrelation (across census tracts) in unobserved components of vehicle counts by tract, as well as cross-response correlation (both spatial and local/aspatial in nature), models of ownership levels (vehicle counts, by vehicle type and fuel economy level) were estimated using bivariate and trivariate Poisson-lognormal conditional autoregressive models. The presence of high spatial autocorrelations and local crossresponse correlations is consistent in all models, across all counties studied. Fuel-efficientvehicle ownership rates were found to rise with household incomes, resident education levels, and the share of male residents, and fall in the presence of larger household sizes and higher jobs densities. The average fuel economy of each tract’s light-duty vehicles were also analyzed, using a spatial error model, across all Texas tracts; and this variable was found to depend most on educational attainment levels, median age, income, and household size variables, though all covariates used were statistically significant. If households registering more fuel-efficient vehicles, including
4 citations
References
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TL;DR: Ajzen, 1985, 1987, this article reviewed the theory of planned behavior and some unresolved issues and concluded that the theory is well supported by empirical evidence and that intention to perform behaviors of different kinds can be predicted with high accuracy from attitudes toward the behavior, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control; and these intentions, together with perceptions of behavioral control, account for considerable variance in actual behavior.
65,095 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors report results of two questionnaire studies aimed at examining various motives for car use, and investigate individual differences in the relative importance of the three categories of motives were investigated.
Abstract: This paper reports results of two questionnaire studies aimed at examining various motives for car use. In the first study, a random selection of 185 respondents who possess a driving licence were interviewed. Respondents were recruited from the cities of Groningen and Rotterdam, The Netherlands. The sample of the second study comprised a random selection of 113 commuters who regularly travelled during rush hours in and around Rotterdam, a region in the west of the Netherlands. First, it was examined which categories of car use motives may be distinguished. As proposed by Dittmar’s (1992) [The social psychology of material possessions: to have is to be. Havester Wheatsheaf, Hemel Hempstead, UK; St. Martin’s Press, New York] model on the meaning of material possessions, results from both studies revealed that car use not only fulfils instrumental functions, but also important symbolic and affective functions. Second, it was studied to what extent these different motives are related to the level of car use. From the results of study 2, it appeared that commuter car use was most strongly related to symbolic and affective motives, and not to instrumental motives. Third, individual differences in the relative importance of the three categories of motives were investigated. In both studies, most group differences were found in the evaluation of the symbolic and affective motives (and not the instrumental ones). Especially frequent drivers, respondents with a positive car attitude, male and younger respondents valued these non-instrumental motives for car use. These results suggest that policy makers should not exclusively focus on instrumental motives for car use, but they should consider the many social and affective motives as well.
1,064 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the relative efficacy of state sales tax waivers, income tax credits and non-tax incentives for hybrid-electric vehicle adoption in the United States has been studied and shown that the type of tax incentive offered is as important as the value of the tax incentive.
Abstract: Federal, state and local governments use a variety of incentives to induce consumer adoption of hybrid-electric vehicles. We study the relative efficacy of state sales tax waivers, income tax credits and non-tax incentives and find that the type of tax incentive offered is as important as the value of the tax incentive. Conditional on value, we find that sales tax waivers are associated a seven-fold greater increase in hybrid sales than income tax credits. In addition, we estimate the extent to which consumer adoption of hybrid-electric vehicles (HEV) in the United States from 2000-2006 can be attributed to government incentives, changing gasoline prices, or consumer preferences for environmental quality or energy security. After controlling for model specific state and time trends, we find that rising gasoline prices are associated with higher hybrid sales, although the effect operates entirely through sales of the hybrid models with the highest fuel economy. In total, we find that tax incentives, rising gasoline prices and social preferences are associated with 6, 27 and 36 percent of high economy hybrid sales from 2000-2006.
595 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore both the promise and the possible pitfalls of the plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) concept, focusing first on its definition and then on its technical state-of-the-art.
551 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a full year of high-resolution driving data from 484 instrumented gasoline vehicles in the US is used to analyze daily driving patterns, and from those infer the range requirements of electric vehicles (EVs).
Abstract: One full year of high-resolution driving data from 484 instrumented gasoline vehicles in the US is used to analyze daily driving patterns, and from those infer the range requirements of electric vehicles (EVs). We conservatively assume that EV drivers would not change their current gasoline-fueled driving patterns and that they would charge only once daily, typically at home overnight. Next, the market is segmented into those drivers for whom a limited-range vehicle would meet every day’s range need, and those who could meet their daily range need only if they make adaptations on some days. Adaptations, for example, could mean they have to either recharge during the day, borrow a liquid-fueled vehicle, or save some errands for the subsequent day. From this analysis, with the stated assumptions, we infer the potential market share for limited-range vehicles. For example, we find that 9% of the vehicles in the sample never exceeded 100 miles in one day, and 21% never exceeded 150 miles in one day. These drivers presumably could substitute a limited-range vehicle, like electric vehicles now on the market, for their current gasoline vehicle without any adaptation in their driving at all. For drivers who are willing to make adaptations on 2 days a year, the same 100 mile range EV would meet the needs of 17% of drivers, and if they are willing to adapt every other month (six times a year), it would work for 32% of drivers. Thus, it appears that even modest electric vehicles with today’s limited battery range, if marketed correctly to segments with appropriate driving behavior, comprise a large enough market for substantial vehicle sales. An additional analysis examines driving versus parking by time of day. On the average weekday at 5 pm, only 15% of the vehicles in the sample are on the road; at no time during the year are fewer than 75% of vehicles parked. Also, because the return trip home is widely spread in time, even if all cars plug in and begin charging immediately when they arrive home and park, the increased demand on the electric system is less problematic than prior analyses have suggested.
541 citations