Mainstream consumers driving plug-in battery-electric and plug-in hybrid electric cars: A qualitative analysis of responses and evaluations

Plug-in electric vehicles can potentially emit substantially lower CO2 emissions than internal combustion engine vehicles, and so have the potential to reduce transport emissions without curtailing personal car use. Assessing the potential uptake of these new categories of vehicles requires an understanding of likely consumer responses. Previous in-depth explorations of appraisals and evaluations of electric vehicles have tended to focus on 'early adopters', who may not represent mainstream consumers. This paper reports a qualitative analysis of responses to electric cars, based on semi-structured interviews conducted with 40 UK non-commercial drivers (20 males, 20 females; age 24-70 years) at the end of a seven-day period of using a battery electric car (20 participants) or a plug-in hybrid car (20 participants). Six core categories of response were identified: (1) cost minimisation; (2) vehicle confidence; (3) vehicle adaptation demands; (4) environmental beliefs; (5) impression management; and, underpinning all other categories, (6) the perception of electric cars generally as 'work in progress' products. Results highlight potential barriers to the uptake of current-generation (2010) plug-in electric cars by mainstream consumers. These include the prioritization of personal mobility needs over environmental benefits, concerns over the social desirability of electric vehicle use, and the expectation that rapid technological and infrastructural developments will make current models obsolete. Implications for the potential uptake of future electric vehicles are discussed.

• Record URL:
  http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965856411001418
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/09658564
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Abstract reprinted with permission from Elsevier.
• Authors:
  • Graham-Rowe, Ella
  • Gardner, Benjamin
  • Abraham, Charles
  • Skippon, Stephen
  • Dittmar, Helga
  • Hutchins, Rebecca
  • Stannard, Jenny
• Publication Date: 2012-1

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 140-153
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice
  • Volume: 46
  • Issue Number: 1
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISSN: 0965-8564
  • Serial URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/09658564

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Attitudes; Consumer preferences; Electric automobiles; Electric vehicles; Evaluation and assessment; Hybrid automobiles; Marketing; Plug-in hybrid vehicles; Qualitative analysis
• Uncontrolled Terms: Barriers to implementation
• Geographic Terms: United Kingdom
• Subject Areas: Energy; Environment; Highways; Vehicles and Equipment; I15: Environment; I90: Vehicles;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01359111
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, ATRI
• Created Date: Dec 16 2011 2:48PM