Principle Investigator: Gil Tal
Co-principle investigator: Debapriya Chakraborty
Project Partners: University of California, Berkeley, Transportation Sustainability Research Center
Project Funder: The California Resilient and Innovative Mobility Initiative (RIMI)
Scant research has yet to be conducted on buyers of used electric vehicles (EVs). Understanding the used EV market is important for several reasons. It is necessary to properly count the on-road fleet of EVs (via an accounting of vehicle retirement), including number of vehicles, vehicle miles traveled, and subsequent energy use and emissions. Any differences between the use of new and used EVs—both in terms of vehicle miles traveled and charging—create differences in charging demand and thus energy use and emissions. Differences in charging demand may exist in terms of total amount of electricity required, time-of-day of electricity demand, and the geographies of charging demand. The latter may be both local-scale, e.g., within any region a greater demand for away-from-home charging may arise if used EVs are more likely to be acquired by people who are unable to charge at home, and regional- or state-scale if used EVs are appearing outside of the regions where new EV sales have so far been concentrated. Further, current buyers of used EVs are the first generation of EV owners to acquire this new technology without the full support of vehicle manufacturers. It is reasonable to expect manufacturers will continue to provide over-the-air software updates to vehicles’ second (and subsequent) owners, however vehicle warranties may be expiring and an EV buyer in any private-party sale of an EV may not have a prior service relationship with an automobile dealership, especially if the buyer is a first-time EV buyer.
This study aims to collect data on used EV buyers that will be used to compare to the other car purchasing populations in future studies on the EV market and usage. The research question is, “Who is buying used EVs and how they are being used?” Unpacking the meaning of “who” yields specific questions about socio-economic, demographic, geographic, and behavioral comparisons to not only buyers of new EVs but also buyers of new and used conventional vehicles. These research questions relate to the intermediate policy goal for 100 percent of new vehicle sales to be EVs and thus the ultimate policy goal to reduce emissions of greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants. Historically, new automotive technologies are introduced via new car sales; but not all households buy new cars. Ensuring the benefits of vehicle electrification spread to all households requires information to support policymaking to promote both sales of used EVs and new mobility models to make EVs available to a broader spectrum of people without the initial barrier of purchase. This project produces information to support the first of these through a large-sample survey of vehicle owning households in California.