Exploring city propensity for the market success of micro-electric vehicles

Abstract

Abstract As a subset of increasing EV growth and micro-mobility technology trends, micro-electric vehicles (micro-EVs) have the potential to address many transport system issues. Little research quantifies micro-EV potential, increasing investment risks. This paper builds an index to explore city propensity for micro-EV market success by incorporating differentiation, implementation, commercialisation, consumer and manufacturer requirements, and economic stability and viability aspects. The results highlight that micro-EV market success could most likely be influenced by the lock-in of the city’s transport system. Despite inherent difficulties due to lock-in, our index suggests that there could be windows of opportunity for micro-EVs to be successful. Although both cities show a propensity for market success, Shanghai scores higher than London, highlighting that these opportunities may exist particularly in developing countries as they experience less lock-in and have more consumer incentives. Implementing micro-EVs in cities with higher propensity could have the domino effect of motivating change in other locations.

Keywords

• Micro-electric vehicles
• Innovation market success
• City propensity
• Lock-in
• Transport