Evidence of a homeowner-renter gap for electric vehicles

ABSTRACT

This paper provides the first empirical analysis of the homeowner-renter gap for electric vehicles. Using newly-available U.S. nationally representative data, the analysis shows that homeowners are three times more likely than renters to own an electric vehicle. The gap is highly statistically significant, and remains even after controlling for income. For example, among households with annual income between $75,000 and $100,000, 1 in 130 homeowners owns an electric vehicle, compared to 1 in 370 renters. Additional controls do little to narrow the gap. The paper argues that this is a version of what economists have called the “landlord-tenant’’ problem, and briefly discusses potential policy implications.

KEYWORDS:

• Electric vehicles
• EVs
• plug-in hybrids
• landlord-tenant problem
• charging stations

JEL CLASSIFICATION:

• Q41
• D12
• L62
• Q54

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

The author has not received any financial compensation for this project nor does the author have any financial relationships that relate to this research.