UK policy and the low carbon vehicle sector

Abstract

This article analyses and critiques attempts by UK policymakers, driven by environmental and economic concerns, to promote the low carbon vehicle sector. In particular the efforts of government departments such as Business, Innovation and Skills; Transport; Energy and Climate Change; and the Office of Low Emission Vehicles are considered. Key schemes to promote the design, development and purchase of low carbon vehicles and alternatively fuelled vehicles amongst consumers are analysed, most notably from the perspective of sales. The impact of the sector on automotive producers operating in the UK is also assessed. The analysis finds that despite considerable policy attention, consumer demand for low carbon vehicles remains sluggish at best and that policy focus needs to be reconsidered with greater emphasis placed on demand stimulus measures.

Electric vehicles and rural business: Findings from the Warwickshire rural electric vehicle trial

“…These findings, related to the availability and usage of existing charging points, are in keeping with the literature referenced in Section 2 (Yeh, 2007;Egbue and Long, 2012;Begley and Berkeley, 2012;Begley et al, 2016). Improving the charging infrastructure and the availability of simultaneous parking and charging opportunities is a key enabler to EV proliferation, serving as it would to improve credibility, reliability and reduce issues of range anxiety.…”

“…Another point to consider is the importance of a well-established charging infrastructure for alternatively fuelled vehicles such as electric vehicles (Yeh, 2007;Egbue and Long, 2012). The issue of infrastructure is particularly important for English rural enterprises as charge points are only sporadically available outside large urban areas in the UK (Begley and Berkeley, 2012). A well-developed support system will improve the viability and sustainability of this technology as a transport alternative.…”

“…11 As noted in Section 1, the relevant indicators were drawn from a range of studies including Beresteanu and Li, 2011;Gallagher and Muehlegger, 2011;Zhang et al, 2013;Turrentine and Kurani, 2007;Sierzchula et al, 2014;Dijk and Yarime, 2010;Yeh, 2007;Egbue and Long, 2012;Begley et al, 2012;Begley et al 2016. Data from the trial provided an insight into the variegated reasons for engagement by trial businesses. As seen in Table 1, a body of existing literature focuses on the importance of investment and operational costs in influencing adoption.…”

Governance and policy challenges of implementing urban low-carbon transport initiatives

“…The Scottish Government set a target in 2009 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 42% by 2020 and 80% by 2050, compared to the 1990/1995 baseline, a more challenging target than the UK as a whole (Scottish Government, 2011a). Meeting such a target represents a significant challenge (Begley and Berkeley, 2012), and local authorities have a key role to play in doing so (Howarth and Polyviou, 2012). , setting out what they will achieve through the services they deliver.…”

What works? An ANFIS-based policy evaluation framework for electric vehicle technology development

“…For large-scale and radical system innovation, such as the introduction of EVs by the automotive industry, there is a need for policy measures that will promote integration, coordination and collaboration between previously largely isolated actors both within the established automotive industry and outside it (Dodourova and Bevis, 2014;Holweg, 2014). Across the EU and elsewhere in the world there is a burgeoning array of policy measures have been established both to support technological development and to stimulate the market with respect to EVs, but given this diversity of interventions and claims made for one sort of intervention or another (Begley and Berkeley 2012;Mazur et al, 2015;Holtsmark and Skonhoft, 2014;Sánchez-Braza et al, 2014;Zheng et al, 2012;Zhou et al, In Press) or indeed attempts to understand why EV development has not occurred (Nykvist and Nilsson, 2015) there is a need for a systematic framework to evaluate policy effectiveness (Harrison and Shepherd, 2014;Querini and Benetto, 2014).…”