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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01 Jan 2015
TL;DR: In this article, the authors assess the current levels of visibility for public PEV charging infrastructure within Canada and identify whether or not a statistically significant relationship exists between consumer awareness of public charging infrastructure and interest in purchasing a PEV.
Abstract: Policymakers often seek to increase the visibility of plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) chargers in public locations in effort to build familiarity and interest in PEVs. However, it is not clear if the visibility of public charging stations actually has an impact on PEV demand. The purposes of the present study are to (1) assess the current levels of visibility for public PEV charging infrastructure within Canada and (2) identify whether or not a statistically significant relationship exists between consumer awareness of public charging infrastructure and interest in purchasing a PEV. We use data collected from a sample of 1739 Canadian new-vehicle buyers in 2013. About 18% of Canadian respondents have seen at least one public charger, while the proportion is highest in British Columbia (31%). We find a significant bivariate relationship between public charger awareness and PEV interest. However, when controlling for multiple explanatory variables in regression analyses, the relationship is weak or non-existent. While perceived existence of at least one charger exhibits no significant relationship with PEV interest, perceived existence of multiple chargers can have a weak but significant relationship. Thus, public charger awareness is not a strong predictor of PEV interest; other variables are more important, such as the availability of level 1 (110/120-volt) charging at home.
23 citations
Cites background from "Barriers to widespread adoption of ..."
...Despite the potential environmental benefits of PEVs, several structural, social, and cultural challenges may need to be overcome before PEVs can be widely adopted (Egbue and Long, 2012)....
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TL;DR: Muehlegger et al. as mentioned in this paper exploited a natural experiment that provides variation in large EV subsidies targeted at low and middle-income households in California to estimate the subsidy elasticity of demand for EVs and the rate of subsidy passthrough.
Abstract: Author(s): Muehlegger, Erich J., PhD; Rapson, David S., PhD | Abstract: Little is known about demand for EVs in the mass market. In this paper, we exploit a natural experiment that provides variation in large EV subsidies targeted at low- and middle-income households in California. Using transaction-level data, we estimate two important policy parameters using triple differences: the subsidy elasticity of demand for EVs and the rate of subsidy pass-through. Estimates show that demand for EVs amongst low- and middle-income households is price-elastic and pass-through is complete. We use these estimates to calculate the expected subsidy bill required for California to reach its goal of 1.5 million EVsby 2025.
22 citations
Cites background from "Barriers to widespread adoption of ..."
...…willingness to pay for BEV technology (Helveston et al. (2015)), there is widespread lack of awareness of EV technology or capabilities (see, e.g., Egbue and Long (2012), Krause et al. (2013)) and consumers often fail to think about fuel prices in a systematic way (Turrentine and Kurani (2007))....
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors present the results of estimating the stability of the electric power supply and fine particulate matter emissions in some cases, and the result of examining the structure of public discourse using big social media data.
22 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyzed the factors for EV adoption with the data of revealed preference from 2013 to 2017 in Korea and found that technical improvement increases the value of EVs and in turn raises the probability of consumers' decision to purchase EVs.
Abstract: Electrification of passenger cars is one of the most popular ways to decarbonize the transportation sector and to reduce local air pollutants. Many researches have tried to examine what will be the driving factors to achieve the widespread adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). In this study, we analyzed the factors for EV adoption with the data of revealed preference from 2013 to 2017 in Korea. Analyses showed that the driving range of EVs and financial incentives have a positive impact on EV deployment. Also, the driving range is found to be the most critical factor explaining the market growth of EVs. The results suggest that technical improvement increases the value of EVs and in turn raises the probability of consumers’ decision to purchase EVs. Financial incentive as well can encourage consumers to buy EVs, however, is not strong enough to create transitions from internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) to EVs.
22 citations
Cites background from "Barriers to widespread adoption of ..."
...The survey from the EV owners in the US indicates that even though the existing EVs already provide the majority of the respondents’ daily trip needs, people still require a greater range, approximately more than three times their daily trip [25]....
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...Technology-push factors: Range [3,6,14,15,18,24,25,29,31,40,43,44] Diversity [18,31,40,43,45] Price [8,14,15,18,24,29,44]...
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...Variables Observations Mean StandardDeviation Min Max Diversity (units) 80 6 1.684 3 8 Range (km) 80 136 16.730 120 168 Price (10 thousand KRW) 80 2343.4 113.149 2175 2501 Income (10 thousand KRW) 80 2914.675 712.139 2073 5221 Subsidy (10 thousand KRW) 80 2435.875 318.738 1949 3369 Fast chargers (units per EV registered) 80 0.168 0.159 0.01 0.79 Fuel cost savings (10 thousand KRW) 80 398.913 87.950 242 521 Table A2....
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...The models that explain the annual sales of the EVs are as follows: Salesi,t = β1Diversityi,t +β2Rangei,t +β3Pricei,t +β4Incomei,t +β5Subsidyi,t +β6Chargersi,t +β7FCSavingi,t + αi +εi,t (1) i = 1, 2, . . . , 16 stand for each municipality, t = 2013, . . . , 2017 for the year....
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...people still require a greater range, approximately more than three times their daily trip [25]....
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors present an index that identifies and ranks the "readiness" of 36 major U.S. cities to deploy electric vehicles, as reflected in the presence of various types of policy instruments, infrastructure development, municipal investments in PEV technology, and participation in relevant stakeholder coalitions.
22 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