Battery-Operated Electric Vehicles (BOEVs) Adoption in India: Analysis of Barriers and Strategies

Abstract

With the rise in the global environmental issues, there is need of transformation of internal combustion engines into electric ones in the transportation industry. Therefore, this article aims to identify and categorize the barriers in adoption of battery-operated electric vehicles (BOEVs) in context to India. The article is conducted into three phases. In the first phase, key barriers are recognized through systematic literature review and validated by the experts. The second phase deals with interpretive structural modeling to develop structural relationships among the barriers. In the third phase, MICMAC analysis is used to categorize the barriers. It is followed by the strategies prioritization using best-worst method. The findings of this article show that government policies, low R&D, lesser incentives, and lack of awareness are the most influential BOEVs adoption barriers, and thus need to be addressed by the policy makers. Developing convenient, affordable publicly accessible chargers, and government interventions incentivizing end customer are the major strategies to overcome the crucial barriers for faster adoption of BOEVs. Insights derived from this article will be helpful for policy makers, manufacturers, and government officials to formulate effective guidelines for the faster adoption of BOEVs in developing countries. Insights derived from this article will be helpful for policy makers, manufacturers, and government officials to formulate effective guidelines for the faster adoption of BOEVs by people not only in India but also in other developing countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh. Though this article conducted only in India but Pakistan and Bangladesh are also similar in many aspects, so this article can be applicable to these countries.