Barriers for mass adoption of Electric Vehicles
Despite recent buzz in the media of the progress of electric vehicles i.e. Tesla and others, electric vehicles still only make up a small fraction of vehicle sales in most markets.
at IPU is dedicating his doctorate to understand the factors that hinder consumers from adopting electric vehicles.
In a recent publication Jens together with his colleagues have shown (contrary to popular belief) that electric vehicles can be cost competitive with conventional fossil fuel vehicles. Significantly lower operating costs (fuel, service and taxes) can offset costs associated with the much higher purchasing price of electric vehicles compared to conventional vehicles, as visible when calculating the total cost of ownership. In subsequent articles (under review) the same authors found that consumers are plagued by significant misperceptions regarding several attributes of electric vehicles, misperceptions that in extension to perceptions of electric vehicle costs can hinder many consumers from adopting electric vehicles. In extension have the author-team identified a group of consumers that ought to be of particular interest for vehicle manufacturers and governments in order to speed up the adoption process of electric vehicles: consumers that are compatible with electric vehicles in terms of range and charging.
Jens now aim to direct his research towards a deeper understanding of consumers perceptions of vehicle cost as well as through interviews of vehicle sellers gain knowledge how electric vehicles are sold and marketed. A area of relevance for electric vehicle adoption that so far have not received much attention in the research literature.