How Policies Affect the Dissemination of Electric Passenger Cars Worldwide

Marina Siebenhofer,Reinhard Haas,Amela Ajanovic

doi:10.3390/en14082093

Abstract

Road transportation is one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gas emissions. The EU set the target to reduce overall transport emissions by 60% by 2050 compared to 1990. Electric mobility is considered a proper means to achieve this goal. Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are a mature technology. The high investment costs, limited driving range and a charging infrastructure that is not extensive yet are currently the main challenges. This work analyses how policies affect the dissemination of BEVs in selected countries with remarkable market shares of BEVs. The core objective is to investigate how policies affect BEV economics compared to conventional car economics. Financial policies and their effects on BEVs for the major markets of China, the USA and Europe were analysed. To do so, the total cost of ownership (TCO) was calculated for each country. The major conclusions were: (i) The investment cost of a car had the most significant impact on the TCO; (ii) Low TCO as an incentive was not enough to ensure successful BEV dissemination; (iii) Non-monetary incentives such as access to certain zones and the usage of bus lanes for BEVs combined with registration taxes, low electricity prices and high fuel prices were very favourable conditions.

Highlights

The transport sector causes around 30% of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the EU; thereof, 72% is road transport
A sensitivity analysis was performed to determine the impact of a change in the interest rate or the depreciation time on the annual costs of a vehicle
The total cost of ownership (TCO) analysis showed that investment costs of the vehicle itself had the most significant impact on the TCO and on the unfavourable economics of battery electric vehicles (BEVs)

Summary

Introduction

The transport sector causes around 30% of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the EU; thereof, 72% is road transport. In contrast to other sectors (energy, industry, residential, agriculture, forestry and fishing), traffic emissions have been increasing rapidly since 1990 [1]. In most of the countries, emissions had been continuously increasing until 2007. Emissions decreased in most of the countries. This decrease was followed by an emission-increasing trend starting from about 2013. Significant differences among countries could be seen due to country-specific circumstances such as gross domestic product (GDP) and national policy framework

Methods

Results

Conclusion