Suggested Citation:
Hardman, Scott, Nora Jang, Dahlia Garas (2019) Brief: Consumer Awareness of Plug-In Electric Vehicles: A Study of Sacramento. Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Davis, Brief UCD-ITS-RR-19-34

California has ambitious goals for transitioning to cleaner vehicles. In 2012, California set a target of 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) on the road by 2025 and, in 2018, set a target of 5 million ZEVs on the road by 2030. However, Californians are largely unaware of the state’s efforts to dramatically increase ZEV adoption [1]. From 2014 to 2017, consumer awareness, knowledge, and purchase considerations of ZEVs in California did not change. This is despite significant state investments in ZEV purchase incentives, a doubling of charging stations and vehicle models for sale, and an increase in the ZEV market share from 3.3% of new car sales in 2014 to 5% in 2017. Achieving California’s ambitious ZEV targets will require a substantial increase in the number of consumers who go through the sequential stages of adoption. First, consumers must be aware the vehicles exist; then they need to become more knowledgeable of the pros and cons of the vehicles, including, but not limited to, available incentives (both monetary and non-monetary) and the availability of charging infrastructure. They will then consider purchasing a ZEV by weighing the pros and cons before finally making a decision

 Key words: electric vehicles, consumer behavior, incentives, infrastructure