Planning for the majorities: are the charging needs and preferences of electric vehicle early adopters similar to those of mainstream consumers?
Patrícia Sauri Lavieri, Gabriel Jurado Martins de Oliveira
Abstract
Abstract The mass deployment of electric vehicles (EVs) may bring significant challenges to the electricity sector. However, many of these challenges can be converted into opportunities depending on how and when consumers decide to charge their vehicles. While there are currently multiple efforts worldwide investigating EV charging behaviour, these efforts measure the behaviour of EV early adopters and may not represent the actual behaviour of the mainstream consumer. The current study uses data from a survey with near a thousand Australian consumers to shed light on the potential similarities and differences between the charging needs and preferences of EV early adopters and mainstream consumers. We find that consumer groups vary in terms of charging needs, perceived access to residential charging, and acceptance of direct charging control and management by suppliers. Our conclusions point to (i) the need for campaigns that increase the awareness and understanding of residential EV charging by mainstream consumers; (ii) the significant interest across all consumer groups in free workplace charging, which could together with residential demand management strategies leverage the use of solar energy for charging; and (iii) the need for utility plans and management strategies that enhance the mainstream consumer sense of control over charging together with their perceived monetary savings.