Embracing strategies to overcome the electric vehicles adoption barriers in emerging market

Abstract

With 24 % of all direct CO2 emissions, the transportation industry is the biggest consumer of fossil fuels. Over 75 % of transportation-related CO2 emissions come from road vehicles, underscoring the need for greener transportation options like electric vehicles (EVs). Many countries are switching to EVs to replace internal combustion engine vehicles and minimize CO2 emissions. The government of India has introduced multiple policies, such as subsidies, PLI and battery swapping programs, tax incentives, a special electric mobility zone in India, etc., to expedite the adoption of EVs, which is still below the desired level due to various challenges and barriers deteriorating air quality and ecological equilibrium. Therefore, it is imperative to implement resilient and responsible strategies to vanquish these barriers to EV adoption. The study proposed an integrated decision framework using Fuzzy-based AHP-TOPSIS methods to overcome the challenges of EV adoption. This integrated fuzzy based decision framework is advantageous due to its ability to handle uncertain and ambiguous factors that often characterize strategic decisions. The result of the study indicates that low-interest rate loans or interest rate subvention and tax exemption, developing a pan-India network of public charging points, and reducing investment costs for EV infrastructure deployment by enhancing cooperation among the stakeholders, etc. are the salient strategies to vanquish the mass EV adoption barriers. The suggested strategies will assist companies, policymakers, and stakeholders in drafting policies for strategy implementation to mitigate the EV adoption barriers.