Factors Affecting Demand for Plug-in Charging Infrastructure: An Analysis of Plug-in Electric Vehicle Commuters

The public sector and the private sector, which includes automakers and charging network companies, are increasingly investing in building charging infrastructure to encourage the adoption and use of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) and to ensure that current facilities are not congested. However, building infrastructure is costly and, as with road congestion, when there is significant uptake of PEVs, we may not be able to “build out of congestion.” We modelled the choice of charging location that more than 3000 PEV drivers make when given the options of home, work, and public locations. Our study focused on understanding the importance of factors driving demand such as: the cost of charging, driver characteristics, access to charging infrastructure, and vehicle characteristics. We found that differences in the cost of charging play an important role in the demand for charging location. PEV drivers tend to substitute workplace charging for home charging when they pay a higher electricity rate at home, more so when the former is free. Additionally, socio-demographic factors like dwelling type and gender, as well as vehicle technology factors like electric range, influence the choice of charging location

A Quantitative Investigation into the Impact of Partially Automated Vehicles on Vehicle Miles Travelled in California

This project investigated changes in travel behavior by owners of partially automated electric vehicles. Partial automation can control vehicle speed and steering using sensors that monitor the external environment. The researchers used review results from survey responses including 940 users of partial automation, of which 628 who have Tesla Autopilot and 312 with systems from other automakers. Autopilot users report using automation more than users of other partial automation systems. Autopilot has the largest impact on travel, notably 36% of Autopilot users reporting more longdistance travel. Respondents who are younger, have a lower household income, use automation in a greater variety of traffic, roads, and weather conditions, and those who have pro-technology attitudes and outdoor lifestyles are more likely to report doing more long-distance travel. The project used propensity score matching to investigate whether automation leads to any increase in respondents’ annual vehicle miles travelled. For simplicity, the researchers focused only on the impact of Tesla Autopilot and found that automation results in an average of 4,884 more miles being driven per year

A Quantitative Investigation into the Impact of Partially Automated Vehicles on Vehicle Miles Travelled in California

This project investigated changes in travel behavior by owners of partially automated electric vehicles. Partial automation can control vehicle speed and steering using sensors that monitor the external environment. The researchers used review results from survey responses including 940 users of partial automation, of which 628 who have Tesla Autopilot and 312 with systems from other automakers. Autopilot users report using automation more than users of other partial automation systems. Autopilot has the largest impact on travel, notably 36% of Autopilot users reporting more longdistance travel. Respondents who are younger, have a lower household income, use automation in a greater variety of traffic, roads, and weather conditions, and those who have pro-technology attitudes and outdoor lifestyles are more likely to report doing more long-distance travel. The project used propensity score matching to investigate whether automation leads to any increase in respondents’ annual vehicle miles travelled. For simplicity, the researchers focused only on the impact of Tesla Autopilot and found that automation results in an average of 4,884 more miles being driven per year

Factors Affecting Demand for Plug-in Charging Infrastructure: An Analysis of Plug-in Electric Vehicle Commuters

The public sector and the private sector, which includes automakers and charging network companies, are increasingly investing in building charging infrastructure to encourage the adoption and use of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) and to ensure that current facilities are not congested. However, building infrastructure is costly and, as with road congestion, when there is significant uptake of PEVs, we may not be able to “build out of congestion.” We modelled the choice of charging location that more than 3000 PEV drivers make when given the options of home, work, and public locations. Our study focused on understanding the importance of factors driving demand such as: the cost of charging, driver characteristics, access to charging infrastructure, and vehicle characteristics. We found that differences in the cost of charging play an important role in the demand for charging location. PEV drivers tend to substitute workplace charging for home charging when they pay a higher electricity rate at home, more so when the former is free. Additionally, socio-demographic factors like dwelling type and gender, as well as vehicle technology factors like electric range, influence the choice of charging location

Understanding the Impact of Charging Infrastructure on the Consideration to Purchase an Electric Vehicle in California

This research makes explicit and tests an implicit assumption in policies promoting public investment in plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) charging infrastructure: even people who are not already interested in PEVs see public PEV charging. Data from a survey representing all car-owning households in California are combined with per capita counts of public PEV charging locations and PEV registrations to estimate a structural equation model for two central variables: the extent to which participants have already considered acquiring a battery electric vehicle (BEV) or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), and whether and how many places people see PEV charging. The model controls for socio-economic and demographic measures as well as participants’ awareness, knowledge, and assessments of PEVs. The model also controls for the known spatial correlation between PEV registrations and public PEV charging locations. The conclusion is there is no evidence of a relationship between public charging location density and participants reporting they see PEV charging locations. Nor is there a relationship between public charging location density and PEV purchase consideration. The evidence indicates there is little reason to assume building more public PEV charging means more people will see that charging or that more people will consider purchasing a PEV. Rather, awareness, knowledge, and positive assessments of PEVs allow people to see PEV charging in their local environment. In short, interest in PEVs is a prerequisite to people seeing PEV charging. Concomitant investments to increase awareness of PEVs and engagement in a transition to them as well as in PEV charging infrastructure may be a more effective way to grow the PEV market

More Public Charging Infrastructure Alone Will Not Increase Electric Vehicle Sales

Plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs), including battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, are an important technology for decarbonizing transportation and reducing urban air pollution. A lack of public charging infrastructure is frequently cited as a primary barrier to continued, widespread PEV market growth. Public and private stakeholders are investing in public charging infrastructure, in part because they hope the presence of more infrastructure will encourage consumers to purchase PEVs. However, public charging infrastructure can only affect PEV sales if people—especially those who are not already PEV owners—see it, and by seeing it become more likely to consider purchasing a PEV. Researchers at UC Davis examined this relationship. They used data from a survey administered in the first quarter of 2021 of approximately 3,000 California car-owning residents, as well as data on PEV registrations and public charger locations. They modeled the relationships between multiple variables

Assessing the Total Cost of Ownership of Electric Vehicles among California Households

The primary metric for measuring electric vehicle (EV) adoption growth is new car sales. However, to enable mass market penetration, EV adoption in the used car market will play a crucial role. The used vehicle market is relatively under-studied or has been studied mostly for specific regions. This project analyzed US national consumer expenditure survey data that tracks households' expenditure on vehicle acquisition and operation. The study aim is to understand new versus used vehicle choice behavior and the consequent cost of vehicle ownership, with the larger aim of determining how much households who generally buy used vehicles can gain or lose if they transition from a used internal combustion engine vehicle (ICEV) to a used EV. A choice model and cluster analysis showed that ownership of used vehicles is influenced by family size, income, housing tenure, and age. For lower-income renters, current vehicle ownership and purchase costs tend to constitute a high fraction of their household income, raising concerns related to equity and suggesting that these households in particular should be considered in policies to encourage the EV transition. Moreover, while at present the average price paid for a used ICEV is approximately $18,000, the price of a comparable used EV can range between$14,000 (e.g., lower electric range Nissan Leaf) to $50,000 (high-range Tesla), suggesting the need for incentives to encourage the used EV market