Regional Trends in Electromobility - Regional Study North America

The subproject “Regional Trends in Electro mobility” aims at identifying and analyzing major trends in the field of electro mobility. The trend analysis will monitor research effort and upcoming technologies, policies, products and market developments in different focus regions around the world continuously to enable a systematic analysis of global trends. The regional trend analysis for electro mobility is a major keystone for the project success and therefore cooperation with renowned international institutions in the field of electro mobility is foreseen. Objects of analysis in the subproject “Regional Trends in Electro mobility” include various forms of battery-electric, road-based vehicles ranging from e-bikes to electric buses, while the focus is on electric passenger cars. The analysis covers vehicles that have electric assisted drive systems as well as vehicles that derive all power from batteries. The focus is on all-electric passenger cars (BEV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV). Mild hybrids and full hybrid are only included in the analysis if these vehicle types are of high relevance in the study region. Furthermore, associated technologies, infrastructures, business models and mobility concepts are under investigation. The analysis covers not only well-known vehicle technologies and mobility concepts, but also includes innovative approaches for electro mobility. At some points it may be necessary to include other vehicle technologies and mobility concepts in the analysis to assess the role of electro mobility. The term “vehicle” subsequently will address road-vehicles only

The UC Davis MINI E Consumer Study

The MINI E is an electric vehicle which is a conversion of BMW's Mini Cooper. Drivers in Los Angeles and New York leased MINI E vehicles for one year and reported on their experiences with these battery electric vehicles (BEV). Many drivers were pleased with the MINI E's performance and described driving it as "fun." Limited range was a minor concern, as was the limited cargo space. Drivers enjoyed mastering their energy use by modifying their driving behavior

Employee Travel in Yosemite National Park

This report describes employee travel in Yosemite National Park. More specifically, it describes the travel undertaken by employees as it relates to their roles as employees. Thus, commuting to work, personal stops made in conjunction with commute trips, trips made to complete work-related responsibilities, and personal trips made during a work shift are addressed. Travel undertaken by employees-as-private citizens, for example, travel on their days off and trips made after returning home at the end of workday, are not addressed. In addition to work-related travel this report provides a description of employees, their home and work locations and work hours, and opinions of potential alternative commute modes.The primary data source is a survey of employees. The timeframe was the summer of 1999. Employees of Yosemite Concession Services Corporation were surveyed in August; employees of the Park Service and of the “park partners” were surveyed in September. The park partners include the Yosemite Association, Yosemite Institute, U.S. Post Office, U.S. District Court, The Ansel Adams Gallery, and the medical/dental clinic

Employee Travel in Yosemite National Park

This report describes employee travel in Yosemite National Park. More specifically, it describes the travel undertaken by employees as it relates to their roles as employees. Thus, commuting to work, personal stops made in conjunction with commute trips, trips made to complete work-related responsibilities, and personal trips made during a work shift are addressed. Travel undertaken by employees-as-private citizens, for example, travel on their days off and trips made after returning home at the end of workday, are not addressed. In addition to work-related travel this report provides a description of employees, their home and work locations and work hours, and opinions of potential alternative commute modes.The primary data source is a survey of employees. The timeframe was the summer of 1999. Employees of Yosemite Concession Services Corporation were surveyed in August; employees of the Park Service and of the “park partners” were surveyed in September. The park partners include the Yosemite Association, Yosemite Institute, U.S. Post Office, U.S. District Court, The Ansel Adams Gallery, and the medical/dental clinic

Automobile Buyer Decisions about Fuel Economy and Fuel Efficiency

Much prior research into consumer automotive and fuel purchase behaviors and fuel economy has been shaped by the normative assumptions of economics. Among these assumptions are that consumers should pay attention to costs of fuel and that they are aware of their options to save on fuel over long periods of time, i.e., the life of a vehicle or at least their period of ownership. For example, researchers have analyzed in some depth consumer choices for more fuel economical vehicles in the 1980s and more recently consumer choices in Europe for more expensive diesel vehicles with lower fuel costs than their gasoline competitors. Some of this research investigates whether automobile buyers have varying future values for money invested today in higher fuel economy, i.e., consumers' discount rates. More recently, in the context of the political battle over new CAFE standards, both automobile manufacturers and energy researchers have asked consumers questions about their willingness to pay more for higher fuel economy and consumers' payback periods for these investments. Both payback periods and net present value calculations require good knowledge of one's own vehicle and annual fuel expenses, forecasts of future prices, and a sophisticated series of calculations. The new arena of debate and research on consumer response to better fuel economy technology is CO2 reduction strategies generally, and regulations to reduce CO2 emissions from transportation in California specifically.The research we report here is designed to help researchers and policy makers to ground future work in the reality of how consumers think and behave relative to fuel economy and efficiency, both on a daily basis and when they purchase motor vehicles. We recruited what we call an "illustrative" sample; fifty-seven households from ten "lifestyle sectors"—for example hybrid vehicle buyers, financial analysts, and off-road vehicle enthusiasts—that we guessed might have differing information and habits around the issue of fuel economy. We conducted a semi-structured, 2-hour interview, which included these four parts: household vehicle histories, purchase narratives, prospecting of future choices, and knowledge and daily behavior around fuel use and purchases.Our strongest finding was that for the most part, our households do not pay much attention to fuel cost over time or in their household budgets, unless they are severely constrained economically. Consumers do pay attention to the price of a tank of fuel and the unit price of fuel on the given day they buy fuel. But this "knowledge" is ephemeral; it is rapidly forgotten over the next few days. Fuel consumption instrumentation on most vehicles is limited and drivers seldom pay attention; the exception is hybrid vehicles and their drivers.One effect of limited knowledge is that when consumers buy a vehicle, they do not have the basic building blocks of knowledge to make an economically rational decision. When offered a choice to pay more for better fuel economy, most households were unable to estimate potential savings, particularly over periods of time greater than one month. In the absence of such calculations, many households were overly optimistic about potential fuel savings, wanting and thinking they could recover an investment of several thousand dollars in a couple of years.Of importance to regulators, we find that good fuel economy is widely considered an attribute of cheap cars; many of our households expressed greater regard for fuel efficiency, a term free from a cheap image and more closely associated to ideas of resource conservation, advanced engineering, and high technology and quality.In the last part of the report we identify five styles of decision making relative to fuel economy, including a more detailed discussion of the decision-making in a small sample of eight hybrid vehicle buyers.In closing, and as this is the first stage in a longer research project, we offer some preliminary conclusions and two hypotheses to steer more quantitative research. Our findings suggest that current strategies of drawing attention to annual fuel cost savings could disappoint buyers, and instead education efforts might focus on fuel efficiency and technical advances. Our interviewees ignore fuel economy for additional reasons; it is only one feature of an expensive, complex good which has many implications for lifestyle and image goals. Our research suggests that consumers might value fuel economy more highly if it were more like shiny paint or a bold body style—an attribute with some emotional punch

Employee Travel in Yosemite National Park

This report describes employee travel in Yosemite National Park. More specifically, it describes the travel undertaken by employees as it relates to their roles as employees. Thus, commuting to work, personal stops made in conjunction with commute trips, trips made to complete work-related responsibilities, and personal trips made during a work shift are addressed. Travel undertaken by employees-as-private citizens, for example, travel on their days off and trips made after returning home at the end of workday, are not addressed. In addition to work-related travel this report provides a description of employees, their home and work locations and work hours, and opinions of potential alternative commute modes. The primary data source is a survey of employees. The timeframe was the summer of 1999. Employees of Yosemite Concession Services Corporation were surveyed in August; employees of the Park Service and of the “park partners†were surveyed in September. The park partners include the Yosemite Association, Yosemite Institute, U.S. Post Office, U.S. District Court, The Ansel Adams Gallery, and the medical/dental clinic.travel, employee, yosemite national park

Analysis of Consumer Response to Automobile Regulation and Technological Change in Support of California Climate Change Rulemaking

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