Are consumer preferences for attributes of alternative vehicles sufficiently accounted for in current policies?

Abstract

International research illustrates some attributes of electro-mobility such as charging infrastructure and range which are crucial determinants of market development. Between 2017 and 2020 the number of battery electric vehicles in Germany has increased much more compared to the number of charging points. High preferences for these attributes in combination with insufficient infrastructure require further clarification to explain why the development of markets for electro-mobility in Germany during the last years is not as expected. This study aims to examine the willingness to pay for attributes of different types of electric vehicles and for car sharing in order to derive recommendations for marketing and policy. The representative study is based on a survey of 405 car users in Germany using a discrete choice experiment with the attributes price, power, running costs, bonus, range and availability of charging stations. 12 choice situations were presented to each respondent. A latent class model was used to analyze socio economic determinants of the willingness to pay for single attributes. The results confirm findings in the literature indicating low preferences for battery electric vehicles in general. Due to high shares of house owners in sub-urban regions this consumer group should be more focused in local sustainability concepts and marketing of battery electric vehicles and other alternative vehicles.