Electric vehicles in multi-vehicle households

ABSTRACT

This paper uses U.S. nationally representative data from the 2017 National Household Travel Survey to present a series of facts about electric vehicles (EVs) in multi-vehicle households. First, as of the time of the survey, 89% of households with an EV also had a non-electric vehicle in addition to the EV. Second, 60% of households with an EV also had a non-electric SUV, truck, or minivan. Third, 66% of households with an EV also had a non-electric vehicle that was driven more miles per year. The paper argues that these patterns have significant implications for the environmental impact of EVs and underscore the importance of better understanding how multi-vehicle households substitute between vehicles.

KEYWORDS:

• Carbon dioxide emissions
• vehicle miles traveled
• range anxiety
• gasoline tax

JEL CLASSIFICATION:

• D12
• L62
• Q41
• Q54
• Q55

Acknowledgment

I am thankful to my Berkeley colleagues for helpful comments and suggestions. I have not received any financial compensation for this project nor do I have any financial relationships that relate to this research. The analysis relies entirely on publicly-available data and all data and code will be posted on my website upon completion of the project.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

¹ The International Energy Agency ‘Global EV Outlook 2021’ describes EV subsidies in the United States, Canada, European Union, India, Japan, and China.