Charging into the Future: Unraveling the Factors Shaping Electric Vehicle Adoption and Addressing Heterogeneity

<div>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.</div>