Electric vehicle users' charging behavior: A review of influential factors, methods and modeling approaches

The uptake of Electric Vehicles (EVs) is essential for achieving the decarbonization of the transportation sector. While uncoordinated charging of EVs can pose challenges to the grid, smart charging has the potential to improve grid reliability and stability. The successful implementation of smart charging relies on a thorough understanding of EV users' (EVUs) charging preferences, behaviors and decision-making processes. Several factors can influence charging behavior, resulting from the characteristics of EVUs themselves or the decisions made by higher-level stakeholders, including Power Grid Operators (PGOs) and Charging Managers (CMs). Additionally, the dynamic nature of charging behavior poses challenges in accurately capturing and modeling it. Therefore, the objective of this review is to identify the key factors influencing EVUs' charging behavior, explore its different dimensions by highlighting the role of stakeholders, and evaluate and compare different methods and modeling approaches used to study charging behavior. For this purpose, a systematic analysis of research articles and Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) projects has been conducted. This paper highlights the need to examine additional factors influencing charging behavior, while identifying the most sensitive ones through available data and developing novel data collection methods. Although pricing schemes remain the primary consideration for EVUs, it is necessary to develop novel schemes that account for the different preferences of EVUs while considering grid conditions. This study recommends that modeling charging behavior, while considering multiple and interacting factors, requires innovative approaches, from data collection to the integration of different methods, to offer sound decision support to several stakeholders.