Factors Influencing the Diffusion of Battery Electric Vehicles in Urban Areas

Purchasing a battery electric vehicle is a type of pro-environmental behavior but the impact of such behavior on the environment becomes significant and beneficial only if a large number of individuals buy it. Therefore, getting battery electric vehicles diffused in a social system is a critical task which needs a special attention from consumers as well as governments and suppliers. This thesis aims to find out all factors influencing the rate of adoption of a battery electric vehicle by using the main constructs and important concepts of theory of diffusion of innovations proposed by Rogers (1962). The results indicate that seven factors influence the rate of adoption of a battery electric vehicle including social pressure, social prestige, usefulness for environment, difficultly of use, price, perceived risk, and knowledge and information about battery electric vehicles. Based on these factors, a road map and a set of policies to accelerate the rate of adoption of battery electric vehicles were proposed.