Analyzing the Range Barrier to Electric Vehicle Adoption

Book excerpt: Although electric vehicles (EVs) are theoretically capable of emissions-free driving, their market penetration is still pending, which is reflected in their low sales numbers. This is mainly due to three major barriers to the widespread adoption of these vehicles, with one of them being their limited average driving distance. Although the limited range of these cars would theoretically be sufficient to match the usage patterns of most drivers, they are generally unwilling to accept it. In this regard, users often report serious concerns about not reaching their planned destinations due to battery depletion, which is commonly referred to as range anxiety. Within this cumulative dissertation, four research questions were derived, aiming to investigate measures that mitigate range anxiety and thus positively affect the attitude toward using EVs. To answer these research questions, six studies were conducted. The insights gained from analyzing the data provide researchers with an in-depth knowledge for investigating the influence of information systems on range anxiety. In addition, practitioners find decision support for addressing the phenomenon of range anxiety in implementing and designing information systems.