IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/eneeco/v84y2019ics0140988319302749.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How large is the effect of financial incentives on electric vehicle sales? – A global review and European analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Münzel, Christiane
  • Plötz, Patrick
  • Sprei, Frances
  • Gnann, Till

Abstract

Plug-in electric vehicles (PEV), both as battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles have noteworthy potential to reduce global and local emissions. However, several barriers still hinder a fast market diffusion of this new technology. Governments around the world have implemented monetary and non-monetary policies to accelerate PEV market diffusion. Their effectiveness is established in the literature, yet the effect size has been only scarcely estimated empirically and only for the US. Here, we review econometric studies on the effect size of purchase incentives and analyse data on PEV sales from 32 European countries from 2010 to 2017 with respect to the effect of financial incentives. We apply panel data regressions and control for other factors such as income and fuel prices. We find energy prices and financial incentives to influence PEV adoption positively. The range of point estimates for the effect of incentives is 5–7% relative sales share increase in different model specifications. Methodologically, the inclusion of a trend variable proved important to capture overall changes in the diffusion of this new technology. Our findings indicate that financial incentives have an impact on PEV sales and thus can facilitate their diffusion.

Suggested Citation

  • Münzel, Christiane & Plötz, Patrick & Sprei, Frances & Gnann, Till, 2019. "How large is the effect of financial incentives on electric vehicle sales? – A global review and European analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:84:y:2019:i:c:s0140988319302749
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2019.104493
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140988319302749
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.eneco.2019.104493?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sykes, Maxwell & Axsen, Jonn, 2017. "No free ride to zero-emissions: Simulating a region's need to implement its own zero-emissions vehicle (ZEV) mandate to achieve 2050 GHG targets," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 447-460.
    2. Egbue, Ona & Long, Suzanna, 2012. "Barriers to widespread adoption of electric vehicles: An analysis of consumer attitudes and perceptions," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 717-729.
    3. Shanjun Li & Lang Tong & Jianwei Xing & Yiyi Zhou, 2017. "The Market for Electric Vehicles: Indirect Network Effects and Policy Design," Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, University of Chicago Press, vol. 4(1), pages 89-133.
    4. Clinton, Bentley C. & Steinberg, Daniel C., 2019. "Providing the Spark: Impact of financial incentives on battery electric vehicle adoption," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    5. Jenn, Alan & Azevedo, Inês L. & Ferreira, Pedro, 2013. "The impact of federal incentives on the adoption of hybrid electric vehicles in the United States," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 936-942.
    6. White, Halbert, 1980. "A Heteroskedasticity-Consistent Covariance Matrix Estimator and a Direct Test for Heteroskedasticity," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 48(4), pages 817-838, May.
    7. Arie Beresteanu & Shanjun Li, 2011. "Gasoline Prices, Government Support, And The Demand For Hybrid Vehicles In The United States," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 52(1), pages 161-182, February.
    8. Gallagher, Kelly Sims & Muehlegger, Erich, 2011. "Giving green to get green? Incentives and consumer adoption of hybrid vehicle technology," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 61(1), pages 1-15, January.
    9. Hardman, Scott, 2019. "Understanding the impact of reoccurring and non-financial incentives on plug-in electric vehicle adoption – A review," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 1-14.
    10. Wee, Sherilyn & Coffman, Makena & La Croix, Sumner, 2018. "Do electric vehicle incentives matter? Evidence from the 50 U.S. states," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(9), pages 1601-1610.
    11. Plötz, Patrick & Schneider, Uta & Globisch, Joachim & Dütschke, Elisabeth, 2014. "Who will buy electric vehicles? Identifying early adopters in Germany," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 96-109.
    12. Greene, David L. & Patterson, Philip D. & Singh, Margaret & Li, Jia, 2005. "Feebates, rebates and gas-guzzler taxes: a study of incentives for increased fuel economy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 757-775, April.
    13. Gerard de Jong & Hugh Gunn, 2001. "Recent Evidence on Car Cost and Time Elasticities of Travel Demand in Europe," Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, University of Bath, vol. 35(2), pages 137-160, May.
    14. Greene, David L. & Patterson, Philip D. & Singh, Margaret & Li, Jia, 2005. "Corrigendum to "Feebates, rebates and gas-guzzler taxes: a study of incentives for increased fuel economy" [Energy Policy 33 (2005) 757-775]," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(14), pages 1901-1902, September.
    15. Tal, Gil & Nicholas, Michael A. & Woodjack, Justin & Scrivano, Daniel, 2013. "Who Is Buying Electric Cars in California? Exploring Household and Vehicle Fleet Characteristics of New Plug-In Vehicle Owners," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt70f4r9wc, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    16. Lieven, Theo, 2015. "Policy measures to promote electric mobility – A global perspective," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 78-93.
    17. Croissant, Yves & Millo, Giovanni, 2008. "Panel Data Econometrics in R: The plm Package," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 27(i02).
    18. Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2010. "Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262232588, December.
    19. Croissant, Yves & Millo, Giovanni, 2008. "Panel Data Econometrics in R: The plm Package," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 27(i02).
    20. Michelle Harding, 2014. "Personal Tax Treatment of Company Cars and Commuting Expenses: Estimating the Fiscal and Environmental Costs," OECD Taxation Working Papers 20, OECD Publishing.
    21. Chandra, Ambarish & Gulati, Sumeet & Kandlikar, Milind, 2010. "Green drivers or free riders? An analysis of tax rebates for hybrid vehicles," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 60(2), pages 78-93, September.
    22. Patrick Jochem & Carsten Brendel & Melanie Reuter-Oppermann & Wolf Fichtner & Stefan Nickel, 2016. "Optimizing the allocation of fast charging infrastructure along the German autobahn," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 86(5), pages 513-535, July.
    23. Sierzchula, William & Bakker, Sjoerd & Maat, Kees & van Wee, Bert, 2014. "The influence of financial incentives and other socio-economic factors on electric vehicle adoption," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 183-194.
    24. Diamond, David, 2009. "The impact of government incentives for hybrid-electric vehicles: Evidence from US states," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 972-983, March.
    25. James M. Sallee, 2011. "The Surprising Incidence of Tax Credits for the Toyota Prius," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 3(2), pages 189-219, May.
    26. Serradilla, Javier & Wardle, Josey & Blythe, Phil & Gibbon, Jane, 2017. "An evidence-based approach for investment in rapid-charging infrastructure," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 514-524.
    27. Wang, Ning & Pan, Huizhong & Zheng, Wenhui, 2017. "Assessment of the incentives on electric vehicle promotion in China," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 177-189.
    28. Shafiei, Ehsan & Davidsdottir, Brynhildur & Fazeli, Reza & Leaver, Jonathan & Stefansson, Hlynur & Asgeirsson, Eyjolfur Ingi, 2018. "Macroeconomic effects of fiscal incentives to promote electric vehicles in Iceland: Implications for government and consumer costs," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 431-443.
    29. Hardman, Scott, 2019. "Understanding the Impact of Reoccurring and Non-Financial Incentives on Plug-in Electric Vehicle Adoption – A Review," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt7v13w987, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    30. Vergis, Sydney & Chen, Belinda, 2015. "Comparison of plug-in electric vehicle adoption in the United States: A state by state approach," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 56-64.
    31. Jenn, Alan & Springel, Katalin & Gopal, Anand R., 2018. "Effectiveness of electric vehicle incentives in the United States," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 349-356.
    32. Hardman, Scott & Chandan, Amrit & Tal, Gil & Turrentine, Tom, 2017. "The effectiveness of financial purchase incentives for battery electric vehicles – A review of the evidence," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 1100-1111.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Alali, Layla & Niesten, Eva & Gagliardi, Dimitri, 2022. "The impact of UK financial incentives on the adoption of electric fleets: The moderation effect of GDP change," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 200-220.
    2. Austmann, Leonhard M., 2021. "Drivers of the electric vehicle market: A systematic literature review of empirical studies," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    3. Azarafshar, Roshanak & Vermeulen, Wessel N., 2020. "Electric vehicle incentive policies in Canadian provinces," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    4. Haidar, Bassem & Aguilar Rojas, Maria Teresa, 2022. "The relationship between public charging infrastructure deployment and other socio-economic factors and electric vehicle adoption in France," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    5. Martin Kalthaus & Jiatang Sun, 2021. "Determinants of Electric Vehicle Diffusion in China," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 80(3), pages 473-510, November.
    6. Wee, Sherilyn & Coffman, Makena & Allen, Scott, 2020. "EV driver characteristics: Evidence from Hawaii," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 33-40.
    7. Briseño, Hugo & Ramirez-Nafarrate, Adrian & Araz, Ozgur M., 2021. "A multivariate analysis of hybrid and electric vehicles sales in Mexico," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    8. Santos, Georgina & Rembalski, Sebastian, 2021. "Do electric vehicles need subsidies in the UK?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    9. Clinton, Bentley C. & Steinberg, Daniel C., 2019. "Providing the Spark: Impact of financial incentives on battery electric vehicle adoption," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    10. Chandra, Minal, 2022. "Investigating the impact of policies, socio-demography and national commitments on electric-vehicle demand: Cross-country study," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    11. Nathan Delacrétaz & Bruno Lanz & Jeremy van Dijk, 2020. "The chicken or the egg: Technology adoption and network infrastructure in the market for electric vehicles," IRENE Working Papers 20-08, IRENE Institute of Economic Research.
    12. Peng, Yuan & Bai, Xuemei, 2023. "What EV users say about policy efficacy: Evidence from Shanghai," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 16-26.
    13. Zhang, Junjie & Jia, Rongwen & Yang, Hangjun & Dong, Kangyin, 2022. "Does electric vehicle promotion in the public sector contribute to urban transport carbon emissions reduction?," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 151-163.
    14. Burra, Lavan T. & Sommer, Stephan & Vance, Colin, 2023. "Free-Ridership in Subsidies for Company- and Private Electric Vehicles," Ruhr Economic Papers 1015, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    15. Liu, Xiaoling & Sun, Xiaohua & Zheng, Hui & Huang, Dongdong, 2021. "Do policy incentives drive electric vehicle adoption? Evidence from China," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 49-62.
    16. Jeremy Dijk & Nathan Delacrétaz & Bruno Lanz, 2022. "Technology Adoption and Early Network Infrastructure Provision in the Market for Electric Vehicles," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 83(3), pages 631-679, November.
    17. Jiménez, Juan Luis & Perdiguero, Jordi & García, Carmen, 2016. "Evaluation of subsidies programs to sell green cars: Impact on prices, quantities and efficiency," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 105-118.
    18. Austmann, Leonhard M. & Vigne, Samuel A., 2021. "Does environmental awareness fuel the electric vehicle market? A Twitter keyword analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    19. Hu, Xu & Yang, Zhaojun & Sun, Jun & Zhang, Yali, 2021. "Exempting battery electric vehicles from traffic restrictions: Impacts on market and environment under Pigovian taxation," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 53-91.
    20. DeShazo, J.R. & Sheldon, Tamara L. & Carson, Richard T., 2017. "Designing policy incentives for cleaner technologies: Lessons from California's plug-in electric vehicle rebate program," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 18-43.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:84:y:2019:i:c:s0140988319302749. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/eneco .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.