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Prospects for Electric Vehicles

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  • Jack N. Barkenbus

    (Vanderbilt Institute for Energy & Environment, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240, USA)

Abstract

The transformation from conventional vehicles to electric vehicles is underway, but its timeline is still uncertain. The battle against climate change provides the essential backdrop, leading governments to encourage this transformation by providing both consumer incentives to purchase electric vehicles and by establishing regulations requiring automakers to produce them. Behind this prodding are a set of fundamental forces that both encourage and discourage consumer interest, as set forth in the text. Fortunately, intensive battery research and development is proceeding that should alter market forces and make electric vehicles more attractive to segments of the population not now in the market for an electric vehicle. Hence, even if the timeline for battery improvement cannot be predicted with certainty, continued government support, and upstart automakers, such as Tesla, should ensure that the transformation will proceed over time.

Suggested Citation

  • Jack N. Barkenbus, 2020. "Prospects for Electric Vehicles," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-13, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:14:p:5813-:d:386801
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    Cited by:

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    2. Fitzpatrick, Aoife Claire, 2025. "Understanding electric vehicle adoption: The role of information frictions and heterogeneous beliefs," SAFE Working Paper Series 453, Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE.
    3. Isabel C. Gil-García & Mª Socorro García-Cascales & Habib Dagher & Angel Molina-García, 2021. "Electric Vehicle and Renewable Energy Sources: Motor Fusion in the Energy Transition from a Multi-Indicator Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-19, March.
    4. Zhang, Xizheng & Wang, Zeyu & Lu, Zhangyu, 2022. "Multi-objective load dispatch for microgrid with electric vehicles using modified gravitational search and particle swarm optimization algorithm," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 306(PA).
    5. Haider Ali Abbasi & Satirenjit Kaur Johl & Zullina Bt Hussain Shaari & Wajiha Moughal & Muhammad Mazhar & Muhammad Ali Musarat & Waqas Rafiq & Asaad Salam Farooqi & Alexey Borovkov, 2021. "Consumer Motivation by Using Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology towards Electric Vehicles," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-22, November.
    6. Jaeyoung Lee & Farrukh Baig & Mir Aftab Hussain Talpur & Sajan Shaikh, 2021. "Public Intentions to Purchase Electric Vehicles in Pakistan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-18, May.
    7. Moghadasi, Negin & Collier, Zachary A. & Koch, Andrew & Slutzky, David L. & Polmateer, Thomas L. & Manasco, Mark C. & Lambert, James H., 2022. "Trust and security of electric vehicle-to-grid systems and hardware supply chains," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 225(C).
    8. Kouridis, Ch & Vlachokostas, Ch, 2022. "Towards decarbonizing road transport: Environmental and social benefit of vehicle fleet electrification in urban areas of Greece," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).

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