Abstract
Transforming mobility systems in sustainable directions will likely rely on several niche-innovations outperforming incumbent regimes that support non-sustainable ways of upholding personal mobility. One prominent driver in these developments is policy, which through creative destruction could serve to destabilise regimes surrounding internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) while also promoting regimes surrounding battery-electric vehicles (EVs). The diffusion of EVs receive substantial attention in policymaking and research, and EV policies are studied extensively in a range of scholarly disciplines. Most studies, however, tend to focus on the role of national-level policy. In contrast, this study explores how local policy can promote the diffusion of EVs. Specifically, we discuss how creative and destructive elements of local policy in two Norwegian cities might have enhanced the relative advantage of EVs through shaping socio-technical configurations that surround the EV niche and the ICEV regime. We find that local policy can enhance the relative advantage of EVs in many ways, especially through shaping infrastructure, user practices, and normative rules. The latter could in particular take research on EV diffusion further, by increasing our understanding of the controversy of EVs even in markets with high diffusion.
Highlights
Policy is widely recognised as a potential driver in socio-technical transition [1,2,3], as “replac[ing] existing systems without changes in economic frame conditions” is unlikely [4:25]
Skjølsvold and Ryghaug [12] have illustrated how electric vehicles (EVs) visions and pol icies evolved over decades, while other studies have provided contem porary checks on the significance of Norwegian EV policy for EV diffusion [e.g. 23,24,25]
To explore creative destruction in local policy, we studied local policy in the City of Bergen in the period 2012 to 2015, during which EV diffusion increased more than 750 percent, and the City of Oslo in the period 2015 to 2019, during which the EV diffusion rate increased by 175 percent
Summary
Policy is widely recognised as a potential driver in socio-technical transition [1,2,3], as “replac[ing] existing systems without changes in economic frame conditions (e.g., taxes, subsidies, regulatory frame works)” is unlikely [4:25]. Defining effective policy mixes that drive transitions forward is a focal point of transition scholars [e.g. 2,5–9], as they might protect and nurture emerging niche-technologies while destabilising established (unsustainable) technologies. This is what Kivimaa and Kern [10] have labelled creative destruction [1,2,3]. The role of policy has been prominent in studies addressing sustainability transitions in mobility systems [e.g. 11,12–14]. Concerns about the climate crisis, coupled with increasing urbanisation, call for transitioning mobility regimes towards low-carbon systems [16], leading policy and research to centre their attention on the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) [17]. Skjølsvold and Ryghaug [12] have illustrated how EV visions and pol icies evolved over decades, while other studies have provided contem porary checks on the significance of Norwegian EV policy for EV diffusion [e.g. 23,24,25]
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