Exploring electric vehicle adoption and future research directions through a bibliometric review

This study aims to provide a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of scientific literature on Electric Vehicles (EVs) adoption. Previous studies have primarily analyzed the technical or policy related aspects of EVs adoption, thus neglecting the behavioral and technological dimensions that shape individual decision making. Further, few studies have systematically examined the evolution of EVs adoption using bibliometric analysis. Therefore, the present study endeavors to map the intellectual landscape of EVs adoption literature by identifying key trends and advancements within the domain over the past decade (2014–2024). A total of 849 articles related to adoption intention of consumers for EVs were retrieved from the Scopus database. The data were analyzed using bibliometric tools including VOSviewer, Microsoft Excel and Biblioshiny in R Studio. The results outline a significant growth in scholarly output on EVs adoption, largely influenced by technological advancements and sustainability goals. The analysis highlights the USA as the dominant leader in this field, while Sustainability (Switzerland) is identified as the most prominent journal that published EV research. Keywords such as electric vehicles, charging infrastructure, vehicle-2-grid technologies, optimization and smart charging capture the breath of the research landscape reflecting the field’s multidisciplinary focus. Further, keyword cluster analysis also highlights the core five themes ranging from behavioral adoption to infrastructure optimization. The emerging themes and collaborative networks offer both theoretical and managerial insights for future work. This study is one of the few to provide a comprehensive bibliometric overview of EVs adoption literature. It offers a foundation for future research by identifying gaps and suggesting a forward-looking research agenda based on the identified research clusters from literature. The findings are valuable for scholars, policymakers and practitioners involved in the development and promotion of sustainable transportation systems.