Car choice determinants in Italy and Norway: A comparison based on revealed and stated choices

Abstract

Norway is the leading country in electric car adoption in the world, while in Italy electric cars are only recently gaining acceptance. We compared car choices in the two countries highlighting commonalities and differences in the choice determinants, distinguishing between the small and the large car segment. We analyzed actual choices made in the real-world conditions and stated choices under hypothetical scenarios. The comparison between the preference structures of the two countries shows important differences when the revealed preference dataset is analyzed, while the differences are much reduced with the stated preference dataset. All in all, we feel that the two countries present only differences associated with longer car driving habits of the Norwegian drivers, the higher percentage of large cars in Norway, and the more developed public charging infrastructure. Since the supply of cars is quite similar, such a consideration leads us to believe that the huge discrepancy in electric car uptake is mainly due to the different car policies adopted in the two countries. The evolution of the policy setting and of the technology will determine whether Italy will follow the Norwegian model of gradual BEV uptake.