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Electrification for The Automotive Sector Towards Sustainable Mobility

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Transportation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2022) | Viewed by 69481

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Francesco Paolo Deflorio

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Guest Editor

Department of Environment, Land and Infrastructure Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Torino, Italy
Interests: electric mobility; transport modelling and simulation; intelligent transport systems; traffic engineering; sustainable transportation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Paolo Guglielmi

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Guest Editor

DENERG, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Torino, Italy
Interests: power electronics for wireless power transfer; high-performance drives; computer aided design of electrical machines

Dr. Miriam Pirra

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Guest Editor

DIATI, Politecnico di Torino, Torino, 10129, Italy
Interests: users’ perception; machine learning; urban mobility; smart mobility

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Electric vehicles (EVs) are one of the current trends in mobility and in the automotive sector. The increasing number of vehicles models entering the market in recent years has revealed that all car manufacturers, including those who were initially more sceptical, have started facing the electrification challenge. EVs can play a relevant role in the transition to a more sustainable road transport system and represent an interesting opportunity for cities to reduce local emissions. Academia and industry are asked to work together to achieve innovative solutions, including appealing charging infrastructures, producing affordable technologies for vehicles, and evolving business models to enhance the role of EVs for mobility needs and long-range trips. In this transition phase, studying and understanding EV users’ experiences and the habits of traditional car users can help stakeholders to orient their policy actions related to EVs and develop their diffusion. Public authorities play a key role as decision-makers in the charging side of the game, cooperating with electric providers, whereas car manufacturers work more on the innovation of vehicles and batteries performance to extend their range.

This Special Issue aims at collecting studies based on present and future perspectives of electric mobility for sustainability, inviting original contributions from different viewpoints, including those of researchers and professional communities. The topics of interest of this Special Issue include (but are not limited to) the following:

Studies on users’ expectations regarding EVs and charging facilities;
Electric charging solutions and their impacts on user mobility and vehicle performance;
Innovative electric charging technologies (e.g., static and dynamic wireless power transfer charging solutions);
Models and simulation tools to support policy makers in the development of electric charging infrastructures for road transport;
Analysis on the role of EVs in pollutants emission and their reduction;
Life cycle analysis of EVs and sustainability goals considering large-scale adoptions.

Prof. Francesco Paolo Deflorio
Prof. Paolo Guglielmi
Dr. Miriam Pirra
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Electric mobility
Charging infrastructure
Users’ perception
Mobility modelling
Environmental impacts

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 2667 KiB

Open AccessArticle

User Automotive Powertrain-Type Choice Model and Analysis Using Neural Networks

by Fabio Luis Marques dos Santos, Paolo Tecchio, Fulvio Ardente and Ferenc Pekár

Sustainability 2021, 13(2), 585; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13020585 - 9 Jan 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2120

Abstract

This paper presents an artificial neural network (ANN) model that simulates user’s choice of electric or internal combustion engine automotive vehicles based on basic vehicle attributes (purchase price, range, operating cost, taxes due to emissions, time to refuel/recharge and vehicle price depreciation), with the objective of analyzing user behavior and creating a model that can be used to support policymaking. The ANN was trained using stated preference data from a survey carried out in six European countries, taking into account petrol, diesel and battery electric automotive vehicle attributes. Model results show that the electric vehicle parameters (especially purchase cost, range and recharge times), as well as the purchase cost of internal combustion engine vehicles, have the most influence on consumers’ vehicle choices. A graphical interface was created for the model, to make it easier to understand the interactions between different attributes and their impacts on consumer choices and thus help policy decisions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electrification for The Automotive Sector Towards Sustainable Mobility)

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14 pages, 914 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Socio-Economic and Environmental Analyses of Sustainable Public Transport in the Philippines

by Casper Boongaling Agaton, Angelie Azcuna Collera and Charmaine Samala Guno

Sustainability 2020, 12(11), 4720; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12114720 - 9 Jun 2020

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 56764

Abstract

Electric vehicles are regarded as energy transition technology towards more sustainable and environment-friendly transportation systems. Despite the benefits of reducing the dependence on fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions, the adoption of electric vehicles faces several obstacles ranging from financing issues, government policies, and public acceptance. This study aims to identify the economic, environmental, and social impact of the adoption of electric vehicles for public transportation. Using the Philippines as a case study, the findings highlight the economic advantage of investing in electric public transportation with high public acceptance. The results further identify significant decrease in air pollution, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and encourage lowering the reliance on imported fossil fuels by shifting the public transport from conventional to electric transport system. This study recommends stricter implementation of government policies on modernized public transportation, stronger government support on financing mechanisms, establishment of charging stations in public and private terminals, and boosting programs for developing local-made electric vehicles. To make electric vehicle more environment-friendly, the government must accelerate the energy transition by increasing the electricity share from renewable sources and investing in more sustainable sources of energy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electrification for The Automotive Sector Towards Sustainable Mobility)

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18 pages, 958 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Potential Early Adopters of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles in Spain—Towards a Customer Profile

by Elena Higueras-Castillo, Sebastian Molinillo, J. Andres Coca-Stefaniak and Francisco Liébana-Cabanillas

Sustainability 2020, 12(11), 4345; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12114345 - 26 May 2020

Cited by 24 | Viewed by 4747

Abstract

The adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) by consumers is regarded as a key strategic goal for the reduction in transport-related air pollution levels. Although sales of EVs continue to rise year on year, generally, the attainment of the strategic goals set by various governments for the adoption of EVs remains a distant target. The purpose of this study is to identify the customer profile of early adopters of EVs in Spain: one of Europe’s largest economies, yet the country with the lowest uptake of EVs at present. The analysis presented here is based on an online survey of 404 potential consumers of EVs in Spain. A cluster analysis of the data was performed based on a set of three socio-demographic characteristics (gender, age, and income), one psychographic (green moral obligation—GMO) and two EV attributes (price and driving range). The results of this analysis showed that there exist two segments with respect to higher or lower customer intentions related to the adoption of EVs. These findings represent a theoretical contribution to current understanding of the customer profile of adopters of EVs and will contribute to the development of communication and retail strategies aimed at customers fitting the profile of early adopters of new technologies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electrification for The Automotive Sector Towards Sustainable Mobility)

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Review

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17 pages, 1465 KiB

Open AccessReview

Identifying Factors Associated with Consumers’ Adoption of e-Mobility—A Systematic Literature Review

by Carolin Stockkamp, Juliane Schäfer, Jan A. Millemann and Sven Heidenreich

Sustainability 2021, 13(19), 10975; https://doi.org/10.3390/su131910975 - 2 Oct 2021

Cited by 27 | Viewed by 4331

Abstract

Electrification of road transport—replacing internal combustion engine vehicles with new energy vehicles such as electric vehicles (EVs)—seems to be a promising step towards achieving sustainable urban development, yet the diffusion of EVs is proceeding slowly. Investigating this phenomenon, researchers have provided numerous findings. However, these findings also created a fragmented and heterogeneous body of literature. This article applies a systematic literature review to establish a status quo of factors associated with the adoption of EVs. A total of 49 articles were identified and analyzed in detail for their contribution to EV adoption. The results from the systematic literature review were synthesized. The article ends with implications for policymakers and suggests fruitful research avenues for future investigations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electrification for The Automotive Sector Towards Sustainable Mobility)

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