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 paper, the authors identify the customer profile of early adopters of EVs in Spain, one of Europe's largest economies and yet the country with the lowest take up rate of EVs at present.
Abstract: The adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) by consumers is regarded as a key strategic goal for the reduction in transport-related air pollution levels. Although sales of EVs continue to rise year on year, generally, the attainment of the strategic goals set by various governments for the adoption of EVs remain a distant target. The purpose of this study is to identify the customer profile of early adopters of EVs in Spain: one of Europe’s largest economies and yet the country with the lowest take up rate of EVs at present. The analysis presented here is based on an online survey of 404 potential consumers of EVs in Spain. A cluster analysis of the data was performed based on a set of three socio-demographic characteristics (gender, age, and income), one psychographic (green moral obligation - GMO) and two EV attributes (price and driving range). The results of this analysis showed that there exist two segments with respect to higher or lower customer intentions related to the adoption of EVs. These findings represent a theoretical contribution to current understanding of the customer profile of adopters of EVs and will contribute to the development of communication and retail strategies aimed at customers fitting the profile of early adopters of new technologies.
21 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a critical review of the current EV situations including the market sales, charging infrastructure, battery performances and policies in China, and suggest diversified energy supplement approaches, time-of-use charging price mechanism, vehicle-to-grid technology and enlarge price subsidy scope to accelerate the development of the electric vehicle industry.
Abstract: Global warming has been increasingly concerning, and international society has been taking various measures to mitigate this issue. Since the electric vehicle has important and generally beneficial impacts on environment protection, grid construction, and operation economical efficiency improvement, many countries have stressed the status of electric vehicle promotion in future planning. As China is the world’s largest carbon dioxide emitter, the Chinese government has taken various acts to reduce emissions, of which promoting electric vehicle is an effective one. This paper attempts to present a critical review of the current EV situations including the market sales, charging infrastructure, battery performances and policies in China. The survey of customer preferences and acceptance to electric vehicle indicate that purchasing behaviors are affected by four factors: charge inconvenience, short battery range, cost and psychological factors. According to the China’s situation, recommendations including diversified energy supplement approaches, time-of-use charging price mechanism, vehicle-to-grid technology and enlarge price subsidy scope are proposed to accelerate the development of the electric vehicle industry.
20 citations
TL;DR: Regression models indicate that factors which did predict vehicle choices concerns were about the performance and range of EVs, EV prevalence in general, and beliefs about what statements different vehicle types made about their owners and the owners’ values.
Abstract: Americans buy millions of vehicles every year, but research on how those decisions are made, including personality and individual difference factors, has rarely taken full advantage of psychological insights. This is an increasingly important topic because, for instance, decisions to buy electric vehicles (EVs) rather than gasoline-powered vehicles have environmental and geopolitical consequences. A series of studies reveal the very different perceptions of EVs and gas vehicles. Although vehicle choices at the aggregate level were strongly correlated with economic considerations, individual consumer choices were correlated with delay discounting rates in Study 1 but not Study 2. These studies also did not find significant correlations between EV purchase decisions and a number of other individual difference traits often thought to be factors in such decisions (i.e., social value orientation, political attitudes, environmental attitudes, preference for novel products, or an array of core social values). Regression models indicate that factors which did predict vehicle choices concerns were about the performance and range of EVs, EV prevalence in general, and beliefs about what statements different vehicle types made about their owners and the owners' values. More attention to the vehicle-associated values and immediate performance/use issues can help to promote EV purchase decisions and subsequent improvements in environmental and political stability.
20 citations
Additional excerpts
...…researchers (e.g., Al-Alawi & Bradley, 2013; Daziano, 2013, 2015; Daziano & Achtnicht, 2014a, Daziano & Achtnicht, 2014b; Daziano & Chiew, 2012; Egbue & Long, 2012; Hidrue, Parsons, Kempton, & Gardner, 2011; Jensen, Cherchi, & de Dios Ort uzar, 2014; Jensen, Cherchi, & Mabit, 2013; Lane &…...
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16 May 2017
TL;DR: An information model is built up as a foundation for a back end service containing EFO and Charging Station Provider logic as well as a central Advanced Drivers Assistant System (ADAS) that connect to both battery management and user interfaces suggesting various routing and driving behaviour alternatives customized and incentivized for the current user profile optimizing above mentioned goals.
Abstract: The existing electromobility (EM) is still in its fledgling stage and multiple challenges have to be overcome to make Electric Vehicles (EVs) as convenient as combustion engine vehicles. Users and Electric Vehicle Fleet Operators (EFOs) want their EVs to be charged and ready for use at all times. This straightforward goal, however, is counteracted from various sides: The range of the EV depends on the status and depletion of the EV battery which is influenced by EV use and charging characteristics. Also, most convenient charging from the user's point of view, might unfortunately lead to problems in the power grid. As in the case of a power peak in the evening when EV users return from work and simultaneously plug in their EVs for charging. Last but not least, the mass of EV batteries are an untapped potential to store electricity from intermittent renewable energy sources. In this paper, we propose a novel approach to tackle this multi-layered problem from different perspectives. Using on-board EV data and grid prediction models, we build up an information model as a foundation for a back end service containing EFO and Charging Station Provider (CSP) logic as well as a central Advanced Drivers Assistant System (ADAS). These components connect to both battery management and user interfaces suggesting various routing and driving behaviour alternatives customized and incentivized for the current user profile optimizing above mentioned goals.
20 citations
Cites background from "Barriers to widespread adoption of ..."
...Onemajor obstacle for (potential) EV users is the so called ”rangeanxiety” [4], which describes the notion of a constantly imminent depletion of the baery and the fear of being stuck on the road...
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...Some metrics that Electric seeks to improve, such as optimizing charging, might infringe on users’ reported needs [4]....
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors extend prior work to determine if lower utility costs can be achieved by integrating Level 3 electric vehicle service equipment (EVSE) with a commercial or industrial building.
20 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