Total Cost of Ownership and Its Potential Implications for Electric Vehicle Diffusion
DS 81: Proceedings of NordDesign 2014, Espoo, Finland 27-29th August 2014
Year: 2014
Editor: Miko Laakso, Kalevi Ekman
Author: Hagman, Jens; Ritzen, Sofia; Janhager Stier, Jenny
Series: NordDESIGN
Institution: The Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden
Section: Users in design and development
Page(s): 366-375
ISBN: 978-1-904670-58-2
Abstract
Battery Electric Vehicles have been slow to diffuse on the international as well as the Swedish market. Existing literature have pointed to situational factors such as economical factors, size and performance to be of high importance for car purchasers in their choice of car. In this paper, the authors investigate the apparent discrepancy between purchase price and the Total Cost of Ownership between Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles and Battery Electric Vehicles. The Total Cost of Ownership computation reveals that Battery Electric Vehicles can be cost competitive with Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles, a significant finding, that could prove to be of importance for the diffusion of Battery Electric Vehicles, although further studies are needed to test car purchasers’ knowledge regarding the Total Cost of Ownership analysis.
Keywords: Electric vehicles, total cost of ownership, diffusion of innovation, sustainability