Expanding Electric Vehicle Adoption in Disadvantaged Communities

To achieve ambitious electric vehicle (EV) and equity goals, sales must reach beyond general populations and into priority groups. Better understanding of EV adoption by priority populations can inform strategies to expand it. We examine light-duty EV adoption in state-designated disadvantaged communities (DACs) in New York State (NYS). We analyze 5,097 survey responses from 21,843 consumers rebated for 2017–2019 EV purchases/leases. We use descriptive statistics, logistic regressions, and dominance analysis to identify and rank order factors associated with DAC adopters. Descriptively, demographic and related findings were largely consistent with expectations based on previous studies. In this study, DAC adopters were also compared with NYS market baseline statistics. They were found to resemble mainstream new vehicle buyers more closely than non-DAC adopters and, indeed, they already represent progress “beyond” the mainstream in several respects. For the logistic regressions, in addition to several expected findings (e.g., more frequent renting and apartment dwelling), factors that distinguished DAC adopters included the following: rebated EVs were household additions (as opposed to replacements), non-Tesla battery EVs, and/or purchased (as opposed to leased); the importance of charging and/or environmental impacts; and/or the unimportance of energy independence. Factors surprisingly not associated with DAC residence included the following: race/ethnicity; importance of various incentives; and/or awareness of rebates from consumers and dealers. Indeed, in contrast to a previous analysis for California, no enabling or awareness factors were found to help distinguish DAC adopters from non-DAC adopters, including financial considerations, when controlling for other factors such as income. Findings are discussed and compared with previous research, and observations are provided to inform program design and outreach.