Willing to Pay? Spatial Heterogeneity of e-Vehicle Charging Preferences in Germany

Stefanie Wolff () and Reinhard Madlener
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Stefanie Wolff: E.ON Energy Research Center, Future Energy Consumer Needs and Behavior (FCN), Postal: School of Business and Economics / E.ON Energy Research Center, RWTH Aachen University, Mathieustrasse 10, 52074 Aachen, Germany, https://www.fcn.eonerc.rwth-aachen.de

No 9/2020, FCN Working Papers from E.ON Energy Research Center, Future Energy Consumer Needs and Behavior (FCN)

Abstract: In this paper, we spatially map the willingness to pay for e-vehicle charging options according to the availability of public charging spots. We combine a Discrete Choice Experiment on charging preferences with a data set of public charging spots. Our results show spatial heterogeneity, i.e. respondents’ choices depend on the quantity of public charging spots available to them. Non-availability of public charging spots in the vicinity has a larger effect on the choice probability than 1, 2, or 3 charging spots have. This could be evidence for charging infrastructure awareness. For the charging locations, we find marked spatial heterogeneity in the willingness to pay subject to the number of available public charging spots. The interaction of charging location with the number of public charging spots reveals a strong preference for charging at home rather than at work or charging on the road. However, with every additional public charging spot, respondents are more likely to charge away from home. This holds until the number of charging spots has reached a tipping point at which respondents become indifferent between home and work charging. When the tipping point is exceeded, respondents rather charge at work than at home. Thus, with increasing numbers of charging spots, public chargers near home are less relevant than those near work. Eventually, public chargers away from home become more attractive. Also, with increasing numbers of charging spots our results reveal a fivefold greater willingness to pay for reducing waiting time (for a charging spot to become available) than for accelerating charging speed. Thus, charging point operators could surcharge by implementing a booking scheme than by implementing fast-charging. From the findings, we derive further implications for charging infrastructure policy, business models, and infrastructure planning, e.g. regarding the expected break-even points for rolling out charging infrastructure and the provision of green energy.

Keywords: Electric mobility charging behavior; Charging spot awareness; Discrete Choice Experiment; Econometric modeling; Willingness to pay; Germany (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C25 D12 M38 Q58 R40 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 34 pages
Date: 2020-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dcm, nep-ene, nep-eur, nep-exp and nep-tre
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ris:fcnwpa:2020_009

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