Analyzing the blockades to electric vehicle mobility in an emerging economy: Toward a triple bottom line sustainable development

Abstract

The emerging economies are moving toward electric vehicles (EVs), which are much sustainable means of transportation. However, many social, economic, and technological blockades of EV mobility remain to be addressed. The study investigates social, economic, and technological blockades for e‐mobility in an emerging economy and simultaneously concentrating on their existing and future business implications. Identification of e‐mobility blockades is obtained through literature review and consensus of the experts. Kappa analysis is used to strain the priority map of the mentioned blockades on the basis of developing consensus among experts. Thereafter, a multi criteria decision making approach that is, best‐worst method is adopted to rank the identified potential blockades. The study models the social, economic, and technological blockades of EV mobility in context of emerging economy. To cater blockades in a desired sequence, the study further suggests the ranking sequence of blockades to enhance e‐mobility toward sustainable development. The findings from the study reveals that “costs associated with EVs and “the lack of government policies, standards, and regulations” are the most important blockades to sustainable EV adoption. Thus, the organizations and the Government need to find ways to reduce the cost of EVs and simultaneously should plan and develop policies to enhance EV adoption and to reduce the usage of gasoline vehicles. The third most important blockade that is, “low demand due to undetermined sustainable benefits” indicates that there is an urgent need to spread awareness among the consumers about the sustainable benefits for the adoption of EVs. Further, the sensitivity analysis reveals that sensitivity range for weightage of the group of academicians lies between 0.3 and 0.7 on a scale of 1. If more weightage is provided to the practical scenario, it is discovered that “location of charging station (BEV4)” is more important than “lack of flexible distribution network (BEV2)” to enhance the amount of EV adoption in India. The study provides insights to practitioners dealing with e‐mobility in emerging economies, showing the appropriate sequence of the blockades to help them build up strategies to mitigate these blockades.