Consumer Perceptions and Use of Driving Distance of Electric Vehicles

Popular media and even researchers commonly assume that ownership of a battery electric vehicle (BEV) provides consumers less performance and mobility than consumers expect. A common claim is that consumers have constant worry about the range of their BEVs, often termed “range anxiety.” BMW converted 450 Mini Coopers to all-electric drive (named the Mini E) and leased them to fleets and 235 private households in the Los Angeles, California, and New York–New Jersey regions from spring 2009 to spring 2010. Through the course of the 1-year lease, University of California, Davis (UCD), researchers conducted multiple online surveys and in-person interviews and administered weeklong driving diaries. This paper explores the reactions of Mini E drivers to the driving distance of the Mini E through the framework of a lifestyle learning process. Over time, Mini E drivers learned how the 104-mi range of the Mini E fit into their lifestyles. Drivers adapted and explored with their Mini E through activities such as altering driving behavior (such as speed and trip routes), optimizing charging opportunities, planning trips, and educating themselves on distances to destinations with the help of online and mobile mapping tools. In the course of the UCD Mini E consumer study, researchers found evidence suggesting that the driving range was not a major concern for these early adopters. Even with no public charging available to their vehicle, 100% of survey respondents stated that BEVs were suitable for daily use. The results of this study will be of interest to policy makers and practitioners interested in expanding the BEV market.

[1]  Clayton M. Christensen,et al.  Picking Green Tech's Winners and Losers , 2011 .

[2]  Meh Lee-Gosselin,et al.  SCOPE AND POTENTIAL OF INTERACTIVE STATED RESPONSE DATA COLLECTION METHODS , 1996 .

[3]  Daniel Sperling,et al.  A Study of Adaptive and Optimizing Behavior for Electric Vehicles Based on Interactive Simulation Games and Revealed Behavior of Electric Vehicle Owners , 1992 .

[4]  Household Adaptations to New Personal Transport Options , 2002 .

[5]  Thomas S Turrentine,et al.  The UC Davis MINI E Consumer Study , 2011 .

[6]  A. Santos,et al.  Summary of Travel Trends: 2009 National Household Travel Survey , 2011 .

[7]  P. S. Hu,et al.  Summary of Travel Trends , 2004 .

[8]  Jonn Axsen,et al.  Combining stated and revealed choice research to simulate the neighbor effect: The case of hybrid-electric vehicles , 2009 .

[9]  Jonn Axsen,et al.  The Early U.S. Market for PHEVs: Anticipating Consumer Awareness, Recharge Potential, Design Priorities and Energy Impacts , 2008 .

[10]  K S Kurani,et al.  HOUSEHOLD ADAPTATIONS TO NEW PERSONAL TRANSPORT OPTIONS: CONSTRAINTS AND OPPORTUNITIES IN HOUSEHOLD ACTIVITY SPACES. IN: IN PERPETUAL MOTION: TRAVEL BEHAVIOR RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES AND APPLICATION CHANGES , 2002 .

[11]  Thomas S Turrentine,et al.  The Household Market for Electric Vehicles: Testing the Hybrid Household Hypothesis -- A Reflexively Designed Survey of New-Car-Buying Multi-Vehicle California Households , 1995 .

[12]  D. Sperling,et al.  Demand for Electric Vehicles in Hybrid Households: An Exploratory Analysis , 1994 .

[13]  Martha S. Feldman,et al.  Narrative Networks: Patterns of Technology and Organization , 2007, Organ. Sci..

[14]  A. Giddens Modernity and Self-Identity: Self and Society in the Late Modern Age , 1992, The New Social Theory Reader.