Assessing the socio-demographic, technical, economic and behavioral factors of Nordic electric vehicle adoption and the influence of vehicle-to-grid preferences

Abstract

This study investigates the interconnected influence of socio-demographics, behavioral, economic, and technical factors associated with electric vehicle (EV) adoption interest and the influence of vehicle-to-grid mobility on preferences. Using hierarchical regression analysis, we examine the impacts of six dimensions relating to socio-demographic, technical, economic, and behavioral factors in a survey (n = 4885) across Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. Our results show that younger males, with higher income, a higher number of children, and who had experiences with EVs, and generally hold sustainability values are positively related to potential EV adoption. Among electric mobility attributes, vehicle-to-grid capability and charging time are determined to be the influential predictors. Adding vehicle-to-grid capability can foster EV adoption in our analysis, considering it can add a revenue stream for EV owners. Individuals continue to use specific knowledge of conventional fuel vehicles when considering EVs and their attributes. Among all of our factors, the fuel economy, financial savings, and environmental value were the strongest predictors. In comparison, the driving range was ranked less critical to former EV owners than to a conventional car and current EV owners. Battery life was ranked more important to conventional fuel vehicle owners than current and former EV owners. Finally, former EV owners considered vehicle-to-grid to be more important than current EV and conventional car owners, implying that vehicle-to-grid could be the marginal incentive that would be the “tipping point.”