Charging behavior differences between BEVs and PHEVs: Evidence from vehicle log data

Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) are central to transport decarbonization, yet most studies analyze them separately, limiting direct comparison. This study leverages large-scale vehicle log data from Japan and a unified mixed logit framework that enables statistically consistent comparison of BEV and PHEV users while capturing user heterogeneity. The estimation reveals average-level systematic contrasts only in three dimensions: BEVs respond more strongly to state of charge and increase charging with longer trips, whereas PHEVs reduce charging on longer trips and are more reluctant to use public chargers. A policy simulation highlights similarly divergent responses: home-charger installation sharply reduces public charging for BEVs (-63 %) but fosters regular home charging for PHEVs (about 6.3 times per month). Importantly, BEV users retain bimodal reliance on public charging, while PHEV users converge toward predominantly home-based charging. These findings underscore the need for both vehicle-specific and user-specific charging policies.