Analysis on User Acceptance for Light Electric Vehicles and Novel Charging Infrastructure

Abstract

Facing the challenges of urban mobility such as rising greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, air pollution, noise, traffic jams and space demand conflicts, sustainable mobility services are a key factor in improving quality of life in urban areas. Smart solutions for urban mobility, such as electric mobility, light electric vehicles (LEV) and shared mobility, offer numerous advantages compared to conventional passenger cars, for example reduced GHG emissions. However, studies show that LEV and sharing services currently only account for a minor share of the modal split of cities. To fully exploit the potential contribution of LEVs to the transport sector's ecological transformation, intelligent charging and battery swapping concepts for regenerative energy supply are needed. Their success and dissemination depend on user acceptance. However, there is still little practical experience and empirical data available to assess the user acceptance and behavioural intention towards charging concepts for LEVs. This paper aims to fill this research gap by conducting an explorative study on user acceptance of solar charging stations and battery swapping stations. Based on an online survey, the study shows that a majority of 50-80% of (potential) sharing system users have a high behavioural intention towards the acceptance object solar charging stations (SCS) and battery swapping stations (BSS). Most respondents (71-77%) state that they perceive SCS and BSS as simple and intuitive. SCS inductive charging was perceived as easy by an even larger percentage of respondents (96%). However, around 60% of respondents state that they would use a charging solution that is perceived as more effortful in return for an incentive.