Analysis of the Electric Vehicles Adoption over the United States

Abstract

Increasing the use of electric vehicles (EVs) has been suggested as a possible method to decrease fuel consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in an effort to mitigate the causes of climate change. In this study, the relationship between the market share of electric vehicles and the presence of government incentives, and other influential socio-economic factors were examined. The methodology of this study is based on a cross-sectional/time-series (panel) analysis. The developed model is an aggregated binomial logit share model that estimates the modal split between EV and conventional vehicles for different U.S. states from 2003 to 2011. The results demonstrated that electricity prices were negatively associated with EV use while urban roads and government incentives were positively correlated with states’ electric vehicle market share. Sensitivity analysis suggested that of these factors, electricity price affects electric vehicle adoption rate the most. Moreover, the time trend model analysis found that the electric vehicle adoption has been increasing over time, which is consistent with theories about diffusion of new technology.