Procurement intentions of electric vehicles in the commercial sector: a model based on the theory of planned behaviour

This study proposes a comprehensive framework based of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and supported by a statistical model, for firms’ procurement intentions of EVs. The importance of this issue is due to the fast growth of commercial vehicle activity and its relatively high share of air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, wide scale market penetration of electric vehicles (EVs) in urban commercial transport can alleviate the associated environmental externalities. The study focuses on small and medium size firms, which are ideal for early adoption of EVs because of their autocratic decision style and high openness to innovative change. The study forms part of the project “Suitable electromobility for commercial transport” (SELECT), supported by the European Union and national funds. The analysed data were collected by means of a custom-designed web-based questionnaire, which elicited the firm characteristics, attitudes, subjective norms and perceived difficulties to introduce EVs considering the current activity and travel pattern of the firm, and the characteristics of the firm fleet manager. The firm characteristics are commercial branch, size, main office location, vehicle fleet size and composition, and vehicle procurement procedures. The activity pattern consists of the number of depot-based daily tours, the average daily tour length, and the number of 30-minute stops. The fleet manager characteristics are age, gender, education, the level of responsibility for fleet management, and the degree of involvement in vehicle procurement decisions. The consideration of EV procurement in the firm included vehicle type and number of daily tours considered by the firm as eligible for the introduction of EVs. Last, the questionnaire elicited interest in EV technology, subjective norms regarding EVs in the same commercial sector, and perceived difficulties to use EVs, for example limited range and speed. The survey was administered in Denmark, Germany and Austria to a representative sample of firms from various commercial sectors. The survey yielded roughly 1,000 completed questionnaires during August-September 2014. Structural equations models (SEM) were employed for modelling the firms’ EV procurement and use intentions. The model includes measurement equations correlating the observed indicators with the latent factors, structural equations relating attitudes, norms and difficulties to firm and fleet manager characteristics, and structural equations associating EV procurement intentions to the attitudes, norms and perceived operational difficulties. The model accounts for the differences across the analysed countries and commercial branches. The results provide valuable insights regarding policy and technology needs to vehicle manufacturers, governmental organisations, and commercial transport organisations