With a Little Help from My Government – A User Perspective on State Support for Electric Vehicles

A broad market penetration of electric vehicles could counteract emissions of greenhouse gases and high particulate matter pollution in cities. However, this is currently prevented by numerous perceived barriers. Government support measures designed to counteract these impediments do not have the desired effect. The present study uses a two-stage approach (focus group discussions and questionnaires with discrete choice experiments) to explore the influence of various support measures and other parameters on the decision to buy an electric vehicle. The results indicate that although financial support, like other support measures, is perceived as motivating, it cannot compensate for the other perceived disadvantages of electric vehicles. State subsidies even have the smallest impact on purchasing decisions. In addition to the electricity generation from renewable energy sources, the range of vehicles and the state of the charging infrastructure are decisive and cannot be compensated for by subsidy programs.