A Tale of Two Investments: Charging Stations and Purchase Subsidies for EV Adoption
This working paper studies the interaction between electric vehicle purchase subsidies and charging infrastructure development.
Abstract
This paper studies the interaction between financial purchase subsidies and charging infrastructure development in promoting electric vehicle (EV) adoption. Leveraging survey data from the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project (CVRP) in California and spatial information on charging stations, we find a significant positive impact of higher charging station density on self-reported importance of CVRP rebates in EV purchase decisions. The results exhibit substantial heterogeneity between lower- and higher-income individuals, likely due to their different charging needs. Our findings reveal a complementary relationship between improving charging prevalence and providing purchase subsidies, which suggests that a hybrid policy combining these two types of incentives might help optimize the overall cost-effectiveness in accelerating EV adoption.
Authors
Bei Luo
University of California, San Diego
