[More in the genre of: If those stoopid peasants only understood what is good for them!]
A UNIGE team shows that underestimating battery autonomy is a major psychological barrier to buying an electric car.
UNIVERSITÉ DE GENÈVE
What are the barriers to the adoption of electric cars? Although the main financial and technological obstacles have been removed, their market share still needs to increase. In a recent study, a team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) investigated the cognitive factors that still dissuade many people from switching to electric cars. They found that car owners systematically underestimate the capacity of electric driving ranges to meet their daily needs. These results, published in Nature Energy, open up new avenues to speed up the electrification of mobility in addition to conventional policy approaches.
The increase of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere is one of the main causes of global warming. Among the GHGs is carbon dioxide – the well-known CO2 – of which the transport sector is one of the main emitters. Fossil fuel vehicles alone account for nearly 18% of global CO2 emissions. The electrification of the vehicle fleet has therefore become one of the major challenges of the energy transition.
The number of electric vehicles is increasing in many countries. However, they are still far from having the market share that would allow a significant reduction in road traffic emissions. In 2020, they represented only 1% of the global vehicle fleet, including hybrid vehicles. To meet the 2030 climate targets, this proportion needs to reach at least 12%.
It’s (almost) all in the head
Now that the main financial and technological barriers have been removed (more affordable purchase prices, financial incentives, denser network of charging stations), what factors are still blocking widespread adoption of this mode of transportation? A large part of the answer lies in the cognitive biases and shortcuts of car drivers.
“Until now, initiatives related to the energy transition generally focused on the technological and financial barriers to their realization. Psychological factors have been given very little consideration. However, many studies show that individuals do not automatically adopt the behaviors most beneficial for themselves or society, often due to a lack of access to complete information”, explains Mario Herberz, first author of the study and researcher at the Consumer Decision and Sustainable Behavior Laboratory of the Department of Psychology at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the UNIGE.
The solution: tailored information
By interviewing more than 2,000 car drivers of different backgrounds and ages in Germany and the United States, the UNIGE scientists identified the source of the cognitive biases that were holding them back from adopting an electric vehicle. “We observed that the participants systematically underestimated the compatibility of electric battery capacities available on the current market with their real needs,” says Tobias Brosch, director of the Consumer Decision and Sustainable Behavior Laboratory and last author of the research.
In other words, consumers wrongly believe that the autonomy of current batteries is not sufficient to cover their daily journeys. This underestimation is substantial, the researchers estimating it at around 30%. “To reassure people, the solution is not only to densify the network of charging stations or to increase the size of batteries, which require scarcer resources such as lithium and cobalt. It is the provision of information adapted to the concrete needs of drivers that will reduce their concern and increase their willingness to adopt an electric vehicle,” explains Mario Herberz.
250 kilometers, the ideal range
The research team found that more than 90% of car trips could be completed with vehicles with a driving range of 200 kilometers, a modest range among the currently available batteries. “The trend is to increase performance, but we have observed that a greater range, beyond 300km for example, does not increase the fit to daily needs. It would only have a minimal impact on the number of additional trips that can be completed with one electric charge. Increasing the size of the batteries is therefore not a key element in the energy transition,” says Mario Herberz.
This research, partly financed by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy, demonstrates the importance of psychological factors and access to relevant information when implementing the energy transition. It opens up new avenues for promoting the electrification of mobility with scientifically informed interventions, as a complement to conventional policy approaches.
JOURNAL
Nature Energy
DOI
METHOD OF RESEARCH
News article
SUBJECT OF RESEARCH
People
ARTICLE TITLE
Counteracting electric vehicle range concern with a scalable behavioural intervention
ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE
19-May-2022
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Sounds like “Cognitive Bias” is a new name for “Common Sense”.
“more than 90% of car trips could be completed with vehicles with a driving range of 200 kilometers,”
So what do I do with the other 10% of the trips I need or want to take? With the air-conditioner running, and 1/2 a ton of cargo on board? Where do I plug in when I need to charge? (Few charge stations and even fewer that work). When I take a 1,400 mile trip, do I stop every 100 miles for a few hours to recharge?
For a trip over 100 miles, go by covered wagon.
You’ll have to pull it yourself, thanks to PETA, animals can no longer be used to haul heavy loads.
Can a solar panel be installed on the roof?
Until it’s possible to drive into the service station and swap out the batteries in 5 minutes EV’s are an expensive virtue signalling toy for brainless Libturds who have way too much money and no sense.
And since battery pack location, size, etc. will never be standardized, you can dismiss that notion as totally impractical. Us, just think of the conflagration you’ll get going in one of those battery ‘stockpiles’ with just one short in one battery pack!
Increased atmospheric GHGs are “one of the main causes of global warming”. What are the other main causes of global warming, we never seem to hear about them?
Objection! “Facts” not in evidence!
I will gladly by an EV when I can change the battery like I can with my drill!
“In other words, consumers wrongly believe that the autonomy of current batteries is not sufficient to cover their daily journeys.”
OooohKaaaaay, I suspect that part is true, but what about the non-daily journeys that most of us use our vehicles for?
And left out of this is that the USA, like many nations around the world, is beginning to suffer electricity shortages. Seems to me that adding a WHOLE LOT OF DEMAND, while switching over to unreliable (and expensive) renewables is a recipe for disaster.
And don’t forget the transmission lines that are already only marginally adequate.
90%<100%
Like saying why do kids happen if the contraceptive is 90% effective. People want to be able to take care of their needs 100% not 90% of the time.
EV also has battery replacement cost problem, fire problem, and lack of electricity problem. (ie. Brown outs and black outs as happening more and more.)
“However, many studies show that individuals do not automatically adopt the behaviors most beneficial for themselves or society, often due to a lack of access to complete information”, explains Mario Herberz, first author of the study and researcher at the Consumer Decision and Sustainable Behavior Laboratory of the Department of Psychology at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the UNIGE.”
You don’t have to read any farther than this to understand this study nothing but BS. Lies and cheating that is all they know.
I rather like sleeping at night without the thought of an electric vehicle fire outside.
From a recent article at Autoevolution:
EVs No Longer an Economic Alternative to ICEs As Supercharging Rates Go Through the Roof
and…
[snip]
2) Moderators, step up: REFUSE to publish ignorant, fact-free rants, whether articles or comments.
[your wish is my command-mod]
Synopsis: Another vote for censorship
Not to mention another vote for the enforcement of “right think.”
“STOP all ignorant, hide bound rants”
You mean all those like the one you just posted?
You can always practice some self-censorship – that’s free and instantly available to you.
Plenty of facts posted here. You just didn’t like em so you resort to calling everyone shills or idiots. You’re the loser here, I think. Why do you even come here? What are you trying to accomplish?
Funny, you seem to paint an apt self-portrait. Projection personified.
I’m not the least bit concerned about my daily driving needs. There’s no question an EV could handle that.
The driving need I plan for is the uncommon but inevitable one when a hurricane is bearing down on the Gulf Coast and evacuation is necessary. Imagine the outcome in a population dependent on EV’s: everyone has to charge up within the space of a few days, then everyone has to travel inland and deplete their charge at the same time. Some will run out of juice and clog the roads. Then the power outages will hit while everyone needs to recharge again. And again the roads will be clogged with cars that run out of charge.
As with our other fine new ‘climate saving’ technologies, EV’s work reasonably well under routine conditions, and have the ability to make extreme conditions worse. Lack of resilience is part of their basic physics. I will never buy one.
This is why the future should be hybrids, not EV’s. You have options!