Growth in electric vehicle ownership in Canada has been slow relative to policy imperatives to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. According to the 2014 IPCC report the global transportation sector was responsible for approximately 23% of all energy related CO2 emissions - second only to the energy supply sector. Further, transportation-related GHG emissions have risen despite growing availability of more efficient modes of transportation (IPCC, 2014). In Ontario, where there is an emphasis on renewable energy production, the transportation sector is the largest emitter of GHGs at 35% (Ontario Government, 2016). We conducted our case study in London, Ontario where vehicle ownership has grown 40% from 2010 – 2018 while combined ownership of plug in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) and plug in electric vehicles (EV) grew only 2.8% (City of London, 2019).
While existing research on hybrid and EV purchasing focuses mainly on market-level economic models, few studies investigate how either social influence or municipal intervention impact electric vehicle purchasing behaviour. This study uses a survey of 257 Londoners, randomly selected from four different postal codes to determine if their likelihood to purchase a hybrid or EV is influenced by social (e.g. talking with family and friends) and municipal factors (e.g., municipally sponsored test drive events, preferential parking). Those factors were included in a model with several other predictors of electric vehicle purchasing behaviour including: cost/financial concerns, environmental concerns, and sociodemographic factors. As hypothesized both social and municipal variables were significantly associated with likelihood to purchase a hybrid or EV as expected. There are two key implications. First, those interested in promoting hybrid/EV should consider messaging that centers on current owners of hybrid/EVs interacting with family and friends. Second, cities should consider their role in providing relatively low-cost incentives and promotion for hybrid or EV. Future research might include direct municipal interventions meant to increase hybrid/EV uptake along with measurement of the impacts using before and after questionnaire
