Identification and Analysis of Barriers against Electric Vehicle Use

Abstract

Electric vehicles (EVs) can be considered an alternative technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector. However, numerous barriers need to be overcome in this regard. This study is aimed at presenting the framework for the identification and analysis of barriers against the use of EVs. Then, the framework was applied to identify the challenges and rank them in order of importance against the diffusion of EVs in Nepal. Seventeen barriers were identified from previous studies, reports, policy documents, and interactions with experts. The identified barriers were classified into five categories: technical, policy, economic, infrastructure, and social. Then, a comparative survey was performed to obtain experts’ opinions on the identified barriers and the analytical hierarchical process was used to analyze and rank them. The results revealed that infrastructure, policy, economic, and technical barriers pose more pressing concerns than social barriers. The lack of charging stations, relatively higher purchase price of EVs compared to internal combustion vehicles, and poor long-term planning and goal setting on the part of the government were ranked as the top three barriers against EV uptake in Nepal. This framework can be applied to replicate the study in other countries, taking their inherent relevant factors into account.

Barriers and Drivers of Transition to Sustainable Public Transport in the Philippines

“…These factors include the high upfront cost to own an EV and competitive prices of diesel over electricity, as well as the availability of charging stations, mechanic/repair shops, and auto-parts supply stores. These results confirm previous studies that the top barriers to the adoption of EVs are the relatively higher cost of ownership compared to internal combustion vehicles, shortage or lack of available charging infrastructures, lack of consumer awareness about EV technology, and poor long-term goal setting on the part of the government [80][81][82]. The total ownership cost of EVs is relatively higher than combustion vehicles due to high-input material cost, higher operational cost, and insufficient infrastructure resulting in higher pay-back period [80].…”

Drivers and Barriers to the Adoption of Fuel Cell Passenger Vehicles and Buses in Germany

“…(1) Expert survey: This elicited the opinion of experts versed in Germany's fuel cell mobility market about the principal factors driving or hampering the production and diffusion of passenger vehicles and buses. Drawing on scholarship both inside and outside the transportation field [63,[80][81][82][83], this method helped to reduce the influence of the authors subjective judgement when identifying the most important drivers and barriers. (2) Expert interviews: These were conducted with experts based in Germany and other European countries to obtain more detailed, qualitative information than that obtained through the expert survey.…”

Interdisciplinary Analysis of Social Acceptance Regarding Electric Vehicles with a Focus on Charging Infrastructure and Driving Range in Germany

“…Over the years, several studies have been published on the topic of barriers to electromobility. Studies, such as [16][17][18], are focused on identifying, categorizing, and weighting these barriers. For this purpose, social-empiric studies were conducted and evaluated in the relevant regions.…”

“…This methodology is intended to show the extent to which changes or developments in barriers have affected social acceptance over the years. For our work, we took our cues from studies, such as [16][17][18], with a special focus on a current opinion survey [16]. In particular, we looked at the barriers of range, charging time, and charging infrastructure in Germany.…”

“…The charging infrastructure for EVs is often cited as a counterargument for purchasing an EV (see the studies [16,18,20]). It is for this reason that the focus of this paper is placed on the charging infrastructure, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, on the driving range of EVs in combination with the charging time, as it is argued that the technology is not mature and causes, among other things, the phenomenon of range anxiety.…”