Open AccessDo more chargers mean more electric cars?
Author(s) -
Stephan Sommer,
Colin Vance
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
environmental research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.37
H-Index - 124
ISSN - 1748-9326
DOI - 10.1088/1748-9326/ac05f0
Subject(s) - endogeneity , european union , subsidy , robustness (evolution) , panel data , instrumental variable , econometrics , constraint (computer aided design) , public transport , population , business , environmental economics , economics , transport engineering , international economics , engineering , environmental health , medicine , market economy , mechanical engineering , biochemistry , chemistry , gene
To reverse the trend of rising CO 2 emissions in the European Union’s (EU) transportation sector, several European governments have introduced programs that promote electric vehicles (EVs). One frequently cited impediment to their uptake is insufficient charging infrastructure. Drawing on panel data from Germany, this paper estimates the relationship between public charging infrastructure and the uptake of EVs. We specify models with fixed effects and instrumental variables to gauge the robustness of our findings in the face of alternative channels through which endogeneity bias may emerge. We find that charging infrastructure has a statistically significant and positive impact on EV uptake, with the magnitude of the estimate increasing with population density. The evidence further suggests that although the incidence of charging points in Germany far exceeds the EU’s recommended minimum ratio of one point to ten EVs, inadequate infrastructure coverage remains a binding constraint on EV uptake. We use the model estimates to illustrate the relative cost effectiveness of normal and fast chargers by region, which supports a geographically differentiated targeting of subsidies for charging infrastructure.