Abstract
Consumer adoption of fuel-efficient vehicles is a crucial step in improving energy use and reducing emissions from the transportation sector. The range of options includes hybridization of powertrains all the way through to fully electric vehicles. To promote adoption, policymakers have employed supply side policies such as the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions/Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards and the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate, which require automakers to produce and sell fuel-efficient and alternative fuel vehicles. In addition, demand side measures in the form of financial and non financial incentives promoting ZEV adoption have also been employed. We measure the changes in consumers’ purchase motivations and potential demand in the wake of such programs by analyzing the past 11 years of new vehicle buyer survey data in the United States as a case study.
