Experiences of EV users in the French-German context

Within the framework of the accompanying scientific research of a fleet test with more than 100 Electric Vehicles (EV, predominantly battery EV) in the French-German border region a user acceptance study is accomplished focusing on transnational trips. Most of the EV are fleet vehicles in companies or public authorities and are used by several persons which increases the potential for the size of the user sample significantly. The acceptance analysis, as part of the fleet test´s evaluation concept, consists amongst others of repeatedly questioning the users and fleet managers (i.e. the persons in charge of the EV in the companies who have partly been involved in the decision making process to acquire the EV) via online surveys with different focuses: expectations, first experiences and EV users´ long-term adoption intentions of EV. Even though the potential for EV adoption for respondents living in municipalities with less than 20,000 citizens has been assumed to be high (higher probability of having parking possibilities with power sockets, higher annual car mileage, higher probability of having two or three cars in the household), experiences of EV users within our analysed fleet test indicate, that urban dwellers´ (respondents living in municipalities with more than 20,000 citizens) degree of satisfaction with EVs´ characteristics absence of local emissions, range and life expectancy of the battery is higher. Furthermore, French respondents´ show a higher degree of satisfaction with EVs´ maximum speed and CO₂ emission characteristics.