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Abstract
To meet current targets for greenhouse gas emissions in Europe, emissions, especially those originating from the road transport sector, need to be reduced. Plans are to achieve this goal by substituting fossil fuel vehicles with electric vehicles (EVs). This article first discusses conceptually the impact of an increasing share of EVs on the electricity grid and suitable locations for charging stations with examples from a Case Study in Lower Bavaria. Secondly, the impact of purchase subsidies on EV purchases in Germany, a high-income country characterized by an important automotive industry and an increasing share of private vehicles is examined. To achieve this, yearly information on EV purchases were analyzed by applying the Synthetic Control Method. Combining data from different sources including the European Alternative Fuels Observatory, Eurostat, and the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, an overall picture was developed. Results indicate a difference between private, semi-public, and public charging infrastructures. Its spatial distribution does not correspond to a specific development strategy. Moreover, EV subsidies have a limited effect in Germany when controlling for market size. Limiting the discussion to a trade-off between subsidizing infrastructures or EV purchases obviates the multidimensionality of the problem as neither of them may be sufficient to accelerate the transition per se. Furthermore, if electricity provided for EVs comes mainly from fossil carriers, the changes in the road transport sector will not yield the expected emission reductions. The transition towards renewables is directly intertwined with the effects of EVs on emission reductions in the road transport sector.
Highlights
Policy and climate strategies in several countries give electric mobility an important role in reducing CO2 emissions to achieve national and international goals such as the Paris Agreement (United Nations, 2015)
Do electric vehicles (EVs) first need to be established in the market to ensure profitable operation of the charging infrastructure and to make sure that the parties install charging station (CS) for profitability rather than for image reasons, or must the charging infrastructure first be set up so that charging is as extensive for EVs as it is for fossil-fuelled vehicles? Is it necessary for the government to provide a coordinated action so as not to waste CS resources that only serve to improve brand image? What mechanism or policy can allow for the reorganization of the transportation system under public-private coordination? These dilemmas go hand in hand with the question of government impulses for electric mobility
Since early 2010, Germany implemented a series of measures to promote the use of EVs, including purchase subsidies and the development of charging infrastructures
Summary
Policy and climate strategies in several countries give electric mobility an important role in reducing CO2 emissions to achieve national and international goals such as the Paris Agreement (United Nations, 2015) This reduction is planned to be mainly driven by the substitution of fossil fuel vehicles with electric vehicles (EVs), but it requires millions of drivers to invest in fleet renewal (Riesz, Sotiriadis, Ambach, & Donovan, 2016). In addition to the substitution of fossil fuels by renewable energy sources, the technological innovation and expansion of electric mobility requires a great deal of investment, both in vehicles and charging infrastructure. A sustainable and user-oriented charging infrastructure is understood to be the essential requirement for any further expansion of electric mobility This is especially true as, in addition to the high costs of EVs, range anxiety, and the poorly developed charging infrastructure are understood as the main obstacles to change (Sovacool, 2017).
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