Transportation contributes 27% of the greenhouse gas emissions in the US.
Governments worldwide are developing new programs to hasten the adoption of
electric vehicles (EVs) in the transition to zero-emission vehicles. However,
the success of EV adoption generally depends on user preferences. This study
explores what we can find out about consumer preferences while accounting for
unobserved heterogeneity. Consumer choices for EVs, including plug-in EVs (PEVs)
and fuel-cell EVs (FCEVs), are analyzed using the California Vehicle Survey
(2019) data. Several factors are examined, including the availability of clean
source energy (installed solar panels) at home, preferable location for
recharging PEVs, past driving experience with EVs, availability of public
charging infrastructure, and sociodemographic factors. A mixed multinomial
(random parameter) logit model is estimated, exploring the associations between
the selected variables and EV consumer preferences while accounting for
unobserved heterogeneity across households. The impact of driving experience on
consumer preferences significantly varies across individuals, signifying
heterogeneity among households. The modeling results suggest that participants
with access to charging facilities at personal garages, carports/driveways, and
parking lots at home are more willing to purchase PEVs rather than those with
access to on-street charging facilities. Interestingly, summary statistics of
the data show that 25.9% of households have installed solar panels in their
residences or plan to install them within 5 years. These households are 11.3%
more likely to purchase PEVs. The findings suggest that most people prefer to
charge their vehicles at home, and the availability of clean energy sources at
home can further incentivize PEV ownership.
