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How much are electric vehicles driven?

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  • Lucas W. Davis

Abstract

The prospect for electric vehicles as a climate change solution hinges on their ability to reduce gasoline consumption. But this depends on how many miles electric vehicles are driven and on how many miles would have otherwise been driven in gasoline-powered vehicles. Using newly-available U.S. nationally representative data, this paper finds that electric vehicles are driven considerably fewer miles per year on average than gasoline-powered vehicles. The difference is highly statistically significant and holds for both all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, for both single- and multiple-vehicle households, and both inside and outside California. The paper discusses potential explanations and policy implications. Overall, the evidence suggests that today’s electric vehicles imply smaller environmental benefits than previously believed.

Suggested Citation

  • Lucas W. Davis, 2019. "How much are electric vehicles driven?," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(18), pages 1497-1502, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:apeclt:v:26:y:2019:i:18:p:1497-1502
    DOI: 10.1080/13504851.2019.1582847
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    Cited by:

    1. Lucas W. Davis, 2024. "The Economic Determinants of Heat Pump Adoption," Environmental and Energy Policy and the Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 5(1), pages 162-199.
    2. Severin Borenstein & James B. Bushnell, 2022. "Headwinds and Tailwinds: Implications of Inefficient Retail Energy Pricing for Energy Substitution," Environmental and Energy Policy and the Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 3(1), pages 37-70.
    3. Jeremy van Dijk & Mehdi Farsi, 2022. "Who is afraid of electric vehicles? An analysis of stated EV preferences in Switzerland," IRENE Working Papers 22-04, IRENE Institute of Economic Research.
    4. Rhodes, Ekaterina & Scott, William A. & Jaccard, Mark, 2021. "Designing flexible regulations to mitigate climate change: A cross-country comparative policy analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    5. Qiu, Yueming Lucy & Wang, Yi David & Iseki, Hiroyuki & Shen, Xingchi & Xing, Bo & Zhang, Huiming, 2022. "Empirical grid impact of in-home electric vehicle charging differs from predictions," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    6. Burlig, Fiona PhD & Bushnell, James PhD & Rapson, David PhD & Wolfram, Catherine PhD, 2024. "Estimating Residential Electric Vehicle Electricity Use," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt8c20q0rf, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    7. Fonseca, Camila & Jiang, Haiyue & Zeerak, Raihana & Zhao, Jerry Zhirong, 2024. "Explaining the adoption of electric vehicle fees across the United States," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 139-149.
    8. Meunier, Guy & Ponssard, Jean-Pierre, 2020. "Optimal policy and network effects for the deployment of zero emission vehicles," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    9. Huang, Robert & Kahn, Matthew E., 2024. "An economic analysis of United States public transit carbon emissions dynamics," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    10. Sheldon, Tamara L. & Dua, Rubal & Alharbi, Omar Abdullah, 2023. "Electric vehicle subsidies: Time to accelerate or pump the brakes?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    11. Chakraborty, Debapriya & Hardman, Scott & Tal, Gil, 2021. "Integrating Plug-in Electric Vehicles (PEVs) into Household Fleets - Factors Influencing Miles Traveled by PEV Owners in California," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt2214q937, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    12. Grigolon, Laura & Park, Eunseong & Remmy, Kevin, 2024. "Fueling electrification: The impact of gas prices on hybrid car usage," ZEW Discussion Papers 24-017, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    13. Ashley Nunes & Lucas Woodley & Philip Rossetti, 2022. "Re-thinking procurement incentives for electric vehicles to achieve net-zero emissions," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 5(6), pages 527-532, June.
    14. Gilbert E. Metcalf, 2023. "The Distributional Impacts of a VMT-Gas Tax Swap," Environmental and Energy Policy and the Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 4(1), pages 4-42.
    15. David S. Rapson & James B. Bushnell, 2022. "The Electric Ceiling: Limits and Costs of Full Electrification," NBER Working Papers 30593, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Xing, Jianwei & Leard, Benjamin & Li, Shanjun, 2021. "What does an electric vehicle replace?," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    17. Habla, Wolfgang & Huwe, Vera & Kesternich, Martin, 2020. "Beyond monetary barriers to electric vehicle adoption: Evidence from observed usage of private and shared cars," ZEW Discussion Papers 20-026, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    18. Burlig, Fiona PhD & Bushnell, James PhD & Rapson, David PhD & Wolfram, Catherine PhD, 2024. "Estimating Residential Electric Vehicle Electricity Use," Institute of Transportation Studies, Research Reports, Working Papers, Proceedings qt8c20q0rf, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Berkeley.
    19. Orkhan Nadirov & Jana Vychytilová & Bruce Dehning, 2020. "Carbon Taxes and the Composition of New Passenger Car Sales in Europe," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-15, September.
    20. Kim, Hyunjung & Kim, Dae-Wook & Kim, Man-Keun, 2022. "Economics of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles in Korea," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    21. Liang, Jing & Qiu, Yueming (Lucy) & Xing, Bo, 2022. "Impacts of the co-adoption of electric vehicles and solar panel systems: Empirical evidence of changes in electricity demand and consumer behaviors from household smart meter data," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    22. Tal, Gil & Karanam, Vaishnavi Chaitanya & Favetti, Matthew P. & Sutton, Katrina May & Ogunmayin, Jade Motayo & Raghavan, Seshadri Srinivasa & Nitta, Christopher & Chakraborty, Debapriya & Davis, Adam , 2021. "Emerging Technology Zero Emission Vehicle Household Travel and Refueling Behavior," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt2v0853tp, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    23. Srinivasa Raghavan, Seshadri, 2020. "Behavioral Realism of Plug-In Electric Vehicle Usage: Implications for Emission Benefits, Energy Consumption, and Policies," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt1rz000pf, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    24. McConnell, Virginia & Leard, Benjamin & Kardos, Fred, 2019. "California’s Evolving Zero Emission Vehicle Program: Pulling New Technology into the Market," RFF Working Paper Series 19-22, Resources for the Future.
    25. Bushnell, James PhD & Mazzone, Daniel & Smith, Aaron & Witcover, Julie, 2020. "Uncertainty, Innovation, and Infrastructure Credits: Outlook for the Low Carbon Fuel Standard Through 2030," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt7sk9628s, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.

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