Sustainable development of electric vehicles in China: A bibliometric analysis and systematic review, 2011 onward

Abstract

To address the challenge of climate change, China declared that its carbon dioxide emissions would peak in 2030 and become carbon neutral by 2060. China is the largest energy supplier and electric vehicles market worldwide and will stop selling combustion vehicles by 2035 and completely phase them out by 2050. To provide a overview of the current research, a bibliometric analysis and systematic review were conducted. The bibliometric analysis utilized data from Web of Science and Scopus, selected based on the PRISMA guidelines. Focusing on studies conducted in China and related to social sciences, environmental sciences, business, or economics. A total of 188 articles met the inclusion criteria. The analysis was performed using VOS viewer software to map co-citations and keyword co-occurrences, identifying core research themes and prominent clusters in the field. However, most researchers have primarily focused on one or two aspects of sustainability, with the hot spots being subsidies, charging costs, charging infrastructure, charging stations, batteries, and emissions. Life cycle assessment is also the most applied theory. This study recommended future research to focus on the usage stage of EVs, incorporating all three sustainability pillars. Additionally, regional assessment should be conducted to consider regional characteristics such as temperature, how policy influences affect electric vehicle emissions, social impacts, and economic advantages. Before promoting electric vehicles, regional assessments should be conducted, so that stakeholders can make decisions.