Barriers and Motivators to the Adoption of Electric Vehicles: A Global Review

Electric vehicles (EVs) have the potential to mitigate the severity of significant concerns including environmental pollution and reliance on fossil fuels; however, despite strong governmental promotional efforts, their market penetration is still at the nascent stage. This paper empirically investigates the factors that affect the consumers’ intention to adopt EVs by conducting an exhaustive literature review. The initial search resulted in 1,690 publications, but after a thorough exclusion process, 537 articles were deemed relevant and were sorted by source, publication year, country of origin, data collection method, and research domain. The results revealed the influential factors over individuals’ desire to adopt an EV were categorized into four main types (contextual, situational, demographic, and psychological); situational factors, that can act as both barriers and motivators, had the most influencing components. The most cited barriers to adoption of EVs were found to be the lack of charging stations availability and their limited driving range. The most cited motivators to EV adoption were found to be reduction in air pollution and the availability of policy incentives. The findings of this study may guide policymakers in formulating effective transportation and energy policies, as well as provide guidance to those who are responsible for designing EVs that fit the needs and demands of potential consumers.