It’s (not) a match! The role of compatibility for the use of public charging points and the adoption of electric vehicles

Electric vehicles help private households to reduce their car bon footprint in the transport sector. Although the adoption of plug-in electric vehicles (PEV) has recently increased, market shares still fall short of political goals. Therefore, examining fac tors that may influence the adoption of PEVs can provide valu able insights for promoting a transition of the transport sector and for mitigating climate change. Recent research shows that compatibility, i.e. whether (or not) the innovation matches the user’s needs and values, often constitutes the driving factor for the adoption of PEVs and plays a crucial role in the use of other low-emission transport options (e.g., car sharing). Since the availability of public charging points (PCP) is often discussed in the context of PEV compatibility and PEV adoption, the cur rent paper addresses the following research questions: Does the compatibility of PCPs influence the adoption intention of PEVs in non-PEV users? Does the established relationship between PEV compatibility and PEV adoption also apply to PCPs? We conducted two non-representative studies in two Ger man cities (total N=470 participants), one focused on the fu ture generation of potential PEV users in a suburban context and the other one on people who live or work close to a PCP in a city. Results of Study 1 replicate that PEV adoption inten tion is predicted by PEV compatibility. Moreover, our analyses reveal an indirect effect of PCP compatibility on PEV adoption intention via PEV compatibility. Specifically, the more compat ible PCPs are perceived, the more compatible are PEVs, and if people consider PEVs more compatible they also tend to have a stronger intention to adopt PEVs. Study 2 replicates and ex tends the results of Study 1. It indicates that the relationship between compatibility and using intention not only applies to PEVs, but also to PCPs. That is, the higher the compatibility of PCPs, the higher the use of them. We conclude that the per ceived compatibility of PCPs plays a relevant role in the inten tion to adopt PEVs as well as for the use of PCPs. Our findings inform transport and urban planning, for example, with regard to the provision of charging points in public spaces.