IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/trapol/v149y2024icp150-162.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Spatial and temporal variance in public perception of electric vehicles: A comparative analysis of adoption pioneers and laggards using twitter data

Author

Listed:
  • Qian, Xiaodong
  • Gkritza, Konstantina

Abstract

Promotional strategies for electric vehicle (EV) adoption need to be tailored to the public's perception of these vehicles. However, there is a notable gap in understanding how public perception of EVs differs between adoption pioneers and those slower to adopt (“adoption laggards”) in terms of the percentage of registered EVs. This understanding is vital for the development of effective promotional strategies, especially for adoption laggards. To address this research gap, this study compares various public perception of EVs among adoption pioneers and laggards in U.S. states by analyzing historical Twitter discussions using Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques, including topic and sentiment analysis. The findings reveal distinct patterns in online EV discussions between the two groups, with adoption laggards being concerned more about affordability and gas prices, and adoption pioneers consistently discussing various topics covering EV and battery manufacturing, charging infrastructure, government EV initiatives, and the EV market. Adoption pioneers exhibit stable, positive attitudes, while adoption laggards display frequent attitude fluctuations, including more negative ones recently. These differences emphasize the importance of EV affordability for adoption laggards and indicate a possible widening gap in EV adoption due to ongoing debates among adoption laggards surrounding the value of transportation electrification. By addressing adoption laggards' concerns and promoting the benefits of EVs, policymakers and stakeholders can enhance perceptions toward EVs, bridging the gap between adoption pioneers and laggards, and promoting widespread adoption of cleaner transportation options.

Suggested Citation

  • Qian, Xiaodong & Gkritza, Konstantina, 2024. "Spatial and temporal variance in public perception of electric vehicles: A comparative analysis of adoption pioneers and laggards using twitter data," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 150-162.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:trapol:v:149:y:2024:i:c:p:150-162
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tranpol.2024.02.011
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0967070X24000532
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.tranpol.2024.02.011?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Egbue, Ona & Long, Suzanna, 2012. "Barriers to widespread adoption of electric vehicles: An analysis of consumer attitudes and perceptions," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 717-729.
    2. Manzetti, Sergio & Mariasiu, Florin, 2015. "Electric vehicle battery technologies: From present state to future systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 1004-1012.
    3. Kurani, Kenneth S. & Turrentine, Tom & Sperling, Daniel, 1994. "Demand for Electric Vehicles in Hybrid Households: An Exploratory Analysis," University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers qt1c29r4hr, University of California Transportation Center.
    4. Mwasilu, Francis & Justo, Jackson John & Kim, Eun-Kyung & Do, Ton Duc & Jung, Jin-Woo, 2014. "Electric vehicles and smart grid interaction: A review on vehicle to grid and renewable energy sources integration," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 501-516.
    5. She, Zhen-Yu & Qing Sun, & Ma, Jia-Jun & Xie, Bai-Chen, 2017. "What are the barriers to widespread adoption of battery electric vehicles? A survey of public perception in Tianjin, China," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 29-40.
    6. Hidrue, Michael K. & Parsons, George R. & Kempton, Willett & Gardner, Meryl P., 2011. "Willingness to pay for electric vehicles and their attributes," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 686-705, September.
    7. Axsen, Jonn & TyreeHageman, Jennifer & Lentz, Andy, 2012. "Lifestyle practices and pro-environmental technology," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 64-74.
    8. Konstantinou, Theodora & Gkritza, Konstantina, 2023. "Are we getting close to truck electrification? U.S. truck fleet managers’ stated intentions to electrify their fleets," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    9. Makena Coffman & Paul Bernstein & Sherilyn Wee, 2017. "Electric vehicles revisited: a review of factors that affect adoption," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(1), pages 79-93, January.
    10. Krause, Rachel M. & Carley, Sanya R. & Lane, Bradley W. & Graham, John D., 2013. "Perception and reality: Public knowledge of plug-in electric vehicles in 21 U.S. cities," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 433-440.
    11. Vassileva, Iana & Campillo, Javier, 2017. "Adoption barriers for electric vehicles: Experiences from early adopters in Sweden," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 632-641.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sui, Cong & Wang, Shuhan & Zheng, Wei, 2024. "Sentiment as a shipping market predictor: Testing market-specific language models," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jose Esteves & Daniel Alonso-Martínez & Guillermo de Haro, 2021. "Profiling Spanish Prospective Buyers of Electric Vehicles Based on Demographics," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-22, August.
    2. Elena Higueras-Castillo & Sebastian Molinillo & J. Andres Coca-Stefaniak & Francisco Liébana-Cabanillas, 2020. "Potential Early Adopters of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles in Spain—Towards a Customer Profile," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-18, May.
    3. Higueras-Castillo, Elena & Kalinic, Zoran & Marinkovic, Veljko & Liébana-Cabanillas, Francisco J., 2020. "A mixed analysis of perceptions of electric and hybrid vehicles," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    4. Peng, Ruoqing & Tang, Justin Hayse Chiwing G. & Yang, Xiong & Meng, Meng & Zhang, Jie & Zhuge, Chengxiang, 2024. "Investigating the factors influencing the electric vehicle market share: A comparative study of the European Union and United States," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 355(C).
    5. Danielis, Romeo & Scorrano, Mariangela & Giansoldati, Marco & Rotaris, Lucia, 2019. "A meta-analysis of the importance of the driving range in consumers’ preference studies for battery electric vehicles," Working Papers 19_2, SIET Società Italiana di Economia dei Trasporti e della Logistica.
    6. Sovacool, Benjamin K. & Axsen, Jonn, 2018. "Functional, symbolic and societal frames for automobility: Implications for sustainability transitions," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 730-746.
    7. Hardman, Scott & Shiu, Eric & Steinberger-Wilckens, Robert & Turrentine, Thomas, 2017. "Barriers to the adoption of fuel cell vehicles: A qualitative investigation into early adopters attitudes," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 166-182.
    8. Rotaris, Lucia & Giansoldati, Marco & Scorrano, Mariangela, 2021. "The slow uptake of electric cars in Italy and Slovenia. Evidence from a stated-preference survey and the role of knowledge and environmental awareness," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 1-18.
    9. Ye Yang & Zhongfu Tan, 2019. "Investigating the Influence of Consumer Behavior and Governmental Policy on the Diffusion of Electric Vehicles in Beijing, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-20, December.
    10. Jingnan Zhang & Shichun Xu & Zhengxia He & Chengze Li & Xiaona Meng, 2022. "Factors Influencing Adoption Intention for Electric Vehicles under a Subsidy Deduction: From Different City-Level Perspectives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-24, May.
    11. Patyal, Vishal Singh & Kumar, Ravi & Kushwah, Shiksha, 2021. "Modeling barriers to the adoption of electric vehicles: An Indian perspective," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 237(C).
    12. Chen, Chien-fei & Zarazua de Rubens, Gerardo & Noel, Lance & Kester, Johannes & Sovacool, Benjamin K., 2020. "Assessing the socio-demographic, technical, economic and behavioral factors of Nordic electric vehicle adoption and the influence of vehicle-to-grid preferences," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    13. Mohamed, Moataz & Higgins, Christopher D. & Ferguson, Mark & Réquia, Weeberb J., 2018. "The influence of vehicle body type in shaping behavioural intention to acquire electric vehicles: A multi-group structural equation approach," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 54-72.
    14. Eunsung Kim & Eunnyeong Heo, 2019. "Key Drivers behind the Adoption of Electric Vehicle in Korea: An Analysis of the Revealed Preferences," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-15, December.
    15. Kim, Moon-Koo & Oh, Jeesun & Park, Jong-Hyun & Joo, Changlim, 2018. "Perceived value and adoption intention for electric vehicles in Korea: Moderating effects of environmental traits and government supports," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 799-809.
    16. José M. Cansino & Antonio Sánchez-Braza & Teresa Sanz-Díaz, 2018. "Policy Instruments to Promote Electro-Mobility in the EU28: A Comprehensive Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-27, July.
    17. Jia, Wenjian & Jiang, Zhiqiu & Wang, Qian & Xu, Bin & Xiao, Mei, 2023. "Preferences for zero-emission vehicle attributes: Comparing early adopters with mainstream consumers in California," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 21-32.
    18. Andriosopoulos, Kostas & Bigerna, Simona & Bollino, Carlo Andrea & Micheli, Silvia, 2018. "The impact of age on Italian consumers' attitude toward alternative fuel vehicles," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 299-308.
    19. Bhat, Furqan A. & Verma, Ashish, 2024. "Electric two-wheeler adoption in India – A discrete choice analysis of motivators and barriers affecting the potential electric two-wheeler buyers," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 118-131.
    20. Cohen, Jed & Azarova, Valeriya & Kollmann, Andrea & Reichl, Johannes, 2019. "Q-complementarity in household adoption of photovoltaics and electricity-intensive goods: The case of electric vehicles," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 567-577.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:trapol:v:149:y:2024:i:c:p:150-162. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/30473/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.