Analysis of barriers and opportunities in the transition towards sustainable electric mobility in Tunisia: An experimental survey

Abstract

The road transport sector is a primary carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions contributor in Tunisia. More recently, the emerging literature has offered findings about the dynamic link between the transport sector, population growth, energy consumption, decrease in fossil energy sources, and CO2 emissions in Tunisia. It highlighted the necessity to promote new solutions and accelerate the transition from conventional technologies to electric ones towards a zero‑carbon transportation future. So far, very little attention has been paid to consumers' attitudes, intentions, and preferences on new electric technologies. In particular, this study aimed to better understand consumers' attitudes, intentions, and preferences in order to adopt the new electric vehicle (EV) technology. The current research work introduced a structured methodology based on an online survey. As an approach, the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle was applied, using the Strength-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats (SWOT) analysis as a support tool. The adopted methodology was to identify the barriers towards the diffusion of EV technology, assess the risk of slow penetration, and plan for continuous enhancement policy recommendations taking into account the consumers' economic and social disturbance precisely due to the Novel Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Thus, on the other hand, the transition project planning requires new methodologies and strategies to remain competitive in project development. Consequently, the present paper proposed the agile methodology using the scrum framework to scale up the electric technology transition process using the user's continuous feedback for an iterative improvement in a minimum period with lower financial losses.