摘要: |
Very little research has been conducted on the second (and third, and thereafter) owners of new technologies. For light dutyvehicles, the research has been focused on the first owners. In the case of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs), understanding thesecondary market is especially important for many reasons, including the vehicle market development and on-road usage. Thesecond owner is also an adopter of new technology, many times taking greater risk than the original owner by purchasing avehicle close to, or after, the end of the warranty. Data on vehicle ownership at the zip code level was used to explore the totalnumber of vehicles, the number of electric vehicles (EVs) owned by the original owner, and the number of EVs owned by asecond or third owner. Results suggest that in areas with few EVs overall, used PEVs make up a higher share of all PEVs, but alower share of all vehicles. Used PEVs are slightly less spatially concentrated than new ones, possibly because of a weakerneighborhood effect and possibly because their lower cost makes them accessible to slightly more people. The study finds that atleast in this phase of the market development, used PEVs are not trickling down at a high rate, but more research is needed toevaluate the reasons for this phenomenon. Policies that focus on the progression of used PEVs to secondary owners byimproving the information provided to used car buyers, reducing the risk of purchasing a new technology, improving theavailability of charging, and addressing other barriers, can help communities with low rates of PEV adoption and improve themarket growth in the future. |