Why buy multiple electric vehicles? The roles of vehicle ownership, charging access, and energy choices in California

Abstract

Switching to electric vehicles will help decarbonize personal transportation, but there may be resistance to electrifying all the vehicles in a household. Vehicle ownership is high in the United States, with over half of households owning two or more vehicles. Electric vehicles are a new technology and there is still much unknown about initial adoption, let alone behavior around subsequent purchases. Early research indicates there are obstacles to owning several electric vehicles at the same time. This work is among the first to study this topic, identifying factors that explain the decision to own multiple electric vehicles. Using a series of cross-sectional questionnaire surveys, we identify households that acquired two or more electric vehicles concurrently (25 %) and others that chose to only acquire one (75 %). Electric vehicles comprise vehicles that fully or partially utilize electricity as fuel and can plug-in to charge. Responses are from 4400 California households between 2015 and 2020 who acquired two or more new vehicles, including at least one electric vehicle. We use logistic regression to determine the most influential behaviors, characteristics, and vehicle choices that differentiate these households. Results indicate that there is lower ownership of multiple electric vehicles in households with fewer vehicles or households that own vehicles of certain larger body styles. On the other hand, several other factors correlate with higher adoption including previously owning electric vehicles, access to moderately fast electric vehicle charging at home, household solar, and using an electric vehicle to commute.