Development of Electromobility in European Union Countries under COVID-19 Conditions

Tomasz Rokicki, Piotr Bórawski, Aneta Bełdycka-Bórawska, Agata Żak and Grzegorz Koszela
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Tomasz Rokicki: Institute of Economics and Finance, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland
Piotr Bórawski: Department of Agrotechnology and Agribusiness, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, ul. Oczapowskiego 2, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland
Aneta Bełdycka-Bórawska: Department of Agrotechnology and Agribusiness, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, ul. Oczapowskiego 2, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland
Agata Żak: Department of Economics of Agricultural and Horticultural Holdings, Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics—National Research Institute, ul. Świętokrzyska 20, 00-002 Warszawa, Poland
Grzegorz Koszela: Institute of Economics and Finance, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland

Energies, 2021, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-24

Abstract: The introduction of electromobility contributes to an increase in energy efficiency and lower air pollution. European countries have not been among the world’s leading countries in this statistic. In addition, there have been different paces in the implementation of electromobility in individual countries. The main purpose of this paper is to determine the directions of change and the degrees of concentration in electromobility in European Union (EU) countries, especially after the economic closure as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The specific objectives are to indicate the degree of concentration of electromobility in the EU and changes in this area, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic; to determine the dynamics of changes in the number of electric cars in individual EU countries, showing the variability in this aspect, while also taking into account the crisis caused by COVID-19; to establish the association between the number of electric cars and the parameters of the economy. All EU countries were selected for study by the use of the purposeful selection procedure, as of December 31, 2020. The analyzed period covered the years 2011–2020. It was found that in the longer term, the development of electromobility in the EU, measured by the number of electric cars, is closely related to the economic situation in this area. The crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced the economic situation in all EU countries, but has not slowed down the pace of introducing electromobility, and may have even accelerated it. In all EU countries, in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the dynamics of introducing electric cars into use increased. The growth rate in the entire EU in 2020 was 86%, while in 2019 it was 48%. The reason was a change in social behavior related to mobility under conditions of risk of infection. COVID-19 has become a positive catalyst for change. The prospects for the development of this type of transport are very good because activities related to the development of the electromobility sector perfectly match the needs related to the reduction of pollution to the environment.

Keywords: decarbonizing transport; energy efficiency; electrify transport; zero-emissions vehicles; sustainable transport; electric car charging points (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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