Investigating attitudes towards fleet electrification – An exploratory analysis approach

This paper examines the attitudes and perceptions of fleets operating entities (FOEs) towards electric vehicles (EVs) using revealed preference data from a random sample of over 1000 Canadian entities. The data records were obtained through an online survey. The results from the conducted Exploratory Factor Analysis suggest that latent constructs involving technology and cost might deter adoption of EVs among the sampled FOEs. On the other hand, monetary and non-monetary considerations with the former informed by lower maintenance and fuel cost, and the latter by access to high occupancy vehicle lanes and availability of free parking, might support the adoption. In terms of attitudes and perceptions, the two leading constructs that emerged from the analysis could be described as early adopter and cost conscience attitudes. The dominant loadings giving rise to the first construct are attributed to the two variables: adopting emerging technologies is not a risky decision and a fleet of EVs can meet operational needs of the businesses. On the other hand, the loadings associated with the second construct collectively represent a mindset in which FOEs seek cost saving benefits of adopting EVs in their fleets. Overall, the results indicate similar attitudinal profiles for corporate and government sector fleets with slight variation in their responses to some of the deterring factors that included higher electricity and insurance rates, operational reliability concerns due to range limitation and longer charging times. Finally, the risk of implementing new technology compared to total cost of ownership and environmental benefits is evaluated with relatively higher importance by the sampled FOEs.