Attitudes Toward Electric Vehicles: The Case of Perugia Using a Fuzzy Set Analysis

Abstract

Sustainable mobility has received increasing attention in recent years. The transport sector contributes to almost a quarter of Europe's greenhouse gas emissions. The development of electric vehicles (EVs) may help the shift toward sustainable mobility, reducing oil vulnerability and greenhouse gas emissions in road transport. Poor penetration of EVs might be explained, moreover, by consumer resistance to EVs. The aim of our paper is to determine consumers' attitude and preferences for EVs, investigating which conditions influence consumer decision-making to purchase an EV. Using a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis of 421 highly-educated individuals, involving students and faculty members, we identify several configurations of conditions of the variables which lead to the outcomes, supporting their equifinality and asymmetric nature. Our findings indicate attitudes related to EVs differ across age and groups. Our paper offers public decision makers new useful insights for understanding the importance of specific determinants, and for designing effective strategies for EVs' development worldwide.system, due to their high efficiency throughout the fuel supply chain and vehicle fuel consumption [7,8]. A number of positive impacts can be expected from the development of EVs. They are an alternative approach to contribute to a more sustainable mobility, reducing fuel consumption and GHG emissions [9]. EVs are the best way to tap into renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power [10], thus indicating that the deployment of EVs and renewable energy sources should take place concomitantly [11]. Moreover, EVs have the potential to make major contributions to the electric supply system, as storage or generation resources, or both [12]. Specifically, EVs can absorb excess energy production (for instance from wind power) that would be wasted or curtailed [13].However, the emerging EV "industry" still faces technological challenges in terms of vehicle and infrastructure design, and EVs are expensive to obtain. There are unresolved issues about the viability of the current generation of EVs, such as rapid charging, range, lack of infrastructure, and load of the grid. Also, off peak-load impacts may arise from the integration of EVs with electricity grids [14].Despite the fact that the Paris Declaration on Electro-Mobility and Climate Change and Call to Action has forecast a threshold of 100 million EVs by 2030 [15], it has to be recognized that large scale EV deployment is still not a reality. There were 2 million EVs in circulation worldwide in 2016, i.e., 1.4% of the total passenger car market.Transitions to green technologies such as EVs often require significant shifts not only in technology, but in political regulations, tariffs and pricing regimes, and the behavior of users and adopters [16]. Consumer resistance to EVs is an obstacle to the adoption of this technology. Potential EV purchasers identify the cost premium, range limitation and recharging time of EVs as disadvantages compared to conventiona...

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