Can policy measures foster plug-in electric vehicle market diffusion?

Plug-in Electric vehicles (PEV), both as battery electric vehicles (BEV) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV) have noteworthy potential to reduce global and local emissions. Governments around the world have implemented monetary and non-monetary policy measures to foster PEV market diffusion. However, empirical estimates of their effectiveness are scarce. Here, we analyse data on PEV sales from Europe and the US with the policy measures active in these countries, e.g., direct subsidies, tax rebates, and public charging infrastructure. The aim of the present paper is to contribute empirical evidence to the discussion of policy aided market evolution of electric vehicles. We find income, gasoline prices and both direct and indirect subsidies to positively influence PEV adoption.