Do more chargers mean more electric cars?
To reverse the trend of rising CO _2 emissions in the European Union’s (EU) transportation sector, several European governments have introduced programs that promote electric vehicles (EVs). One frequently cited impediment to their uptake is insufficient charging infrastructure. Drawing on panel dat...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2021-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac05f0 |
| _version_ | 1797747588104978432 |
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| author | Stephan Sommer Colin Vance |
| author_facet | Stephan Sommer Colin Vance |
| author_sort | Stephan Sommer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | To reverse the trend of rising CO _2 emissions in the European Union’s (EU) transportation sector, several European governments have introduced programs that promote electric vehicles (EVs). One frequently cited impediment to their uptake is insufficient charging infrastructure. Drawing on panel data from Germany, this paper estimates the relationship between public charging infrastructure and the uptake of EVs. We specify models with fixed effects and instrumental variables to gauge the robustness of our findings in the face of alternative channels through which endogeneity bias may emerge. We find that charging infrastructure has a statistically significant and positive impact on EV uptake, with the magnitude of the estimate increasing with population density. The evidence further suggests that although the incidence of charging points in Germany far exceeds the EU’s recommended minimum ratio of one point to ten EVs, inadequate infrastructure coverage remains a binding constraint on EV uptake. We use the model estimates to illustrate the relative cost effectiveness of normal and fast chargers by region, which supports a geographically differentiated targeting of subsidies for charging infrastructure. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:53:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-55171a31fe2b4c7686641aa24d793dbd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:53:38Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-55171a31fe2b4c7686641aa24d793dbd2023-08-09T15:01:41ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262021-01-0116606409210.1088/1748-9326/ac05f0Do more chargers mean more electric cars?Stephan Sommer0Colin Vance1RWI–Leibniz-Institute for Economic Research , Hohenzollernstr. 1-3, 45128 Essen, GermanyRWI–Leibniz-Institute for Economic Research , Hohenzollernstr. 1-3, 45128 Essen, Germany; Jacobs University Bremen , GermanyTo reverse the trend of rising CO _2 emissions in the European Union’s (EU) transportation sector, several European governments have introduced programs that promote electric vehicles (EVs). One frequently cited impediment to their uptake is insufficient charging infrastructure. Drawing on panel data from Germany, this paper estimates the relationship between public charging infrastructure and the uptake of EVs. We specify models with fixed effects and instrumental variables to gauge the robustness of our findings in the face of alternative channels through which endogeneity bias may emerge. We find that charging infrastructure has a statistically significant and positive impact on EV uptake, with the magnitude of the estimate increasing with population density. The evidence further suggests that although the incidence of charging points in Germany far exceeds the EU’s recommended minimum ratio of one point to ten EVs, inadequate infrastructure coverage remains a binding constraint on EV uptake. We use the model estimates to illustrate the relative cost effectiveness of normal and fast chargers by region, which supports a geographically differentiated targeting of subsidies for charging infrastructure.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac05f0transport policyelectric vehiclescharging infrastructureGermany |
| spellingShingle | Stephan Sommer Colin Vance Do more chargers mean more electric cars? Environmental Research Letters transport policy electric vehicles charging infrastructure Germany |
| title | Do more chargers mean more electric cars? |
| title_full | Do more chargers mean more electric cars? |
| title_fullStr | Do more chargers mean more electric cars? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Do more chargers mean more electric cars? |
| title_short | Do more chargers mean more electric cars? |
| title_sort | do more chargers mean more electric cars |
| topic | transport policy electric vehicles charging infrastructure Germany |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac05f0 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT stephansommer domorechargersmeanmoreelectriccars AT colinvance domorechargersmeanmoreelectriccars |