Exploring the effect of battery capacity on electric vehicle sharing programs using a simulation approach

Abstract

Aided by mobile computing technology, shared electric vehicles (SEVs) have become an accessible and affordable mobility option. However, limited battery capacity remains a major obstacle for large-scale adoption of SEVs, and greatly undermines their popularity. In this study, a discrete-event simulation approach was employed to estimate how battery capacity affects the performance of a carsharing program. Results show that limited battery capacity lowered user satisfaction and vehicle utilization in the program. Increased charging speed, maximum range, and vehicle-to-trip ratio help mitigate these negative effects. Specifically, increasing the maximum range or charging speed contributes to the increment of the average SEV usage time and the percentage of satisfied rental requests. A higher vehicle-to-trip ratio contributes to a greater level of user satisfaction but a lower level of vehicle utilization. Additionally, the negative effects of battery capacity are greatly diminished after charging speed is increased to a certain threshold. These findings help capture the trade-off between charging facility investment, vehicle utilization, and user satisfaction. Increasing charging speed and maximum range are necessary if operators want to maximize vehicle utilization and promote user satisfaction. However, this investment must also account for cost-effectiveness.