Madlen Günther

Which Factors Can Protect Against Range Stress in Everyday Usage of Battery Electric Vehicles? Toward Enhancing Sustainability of Electric Mobility Systems

Objective: The objective of the present research was to advance understanding of factors that can protect against range anxiety, specifically range stress in everyday usage of battery electric vehicles (BEVs). Background: Range anxiety is a major barrier to the broad adoption of sustainable electric mobility systems. To develop strategies aimed at overcoming range anxiety, a clear understanding of this phenomenon and influencing factors is needed. Method: We examined range anxiety in the form of everyday range stress (ERS) in a field study setting. Seventy-two customers leased a BEV for 3 months. The field study was specifically designed to enable examination of factors that can contribute to lower ERS. In particular, study design and sample recruitment were targeted at generating vehicle usage profiles that would lead to relatively frequent experience of situations requiring active management of range resources and thereby potentially leading to experienced range stress. Results: Less frequent encounter with critical range situations, higher practical experience, subjective range competence, tolerance of low range, and experienced trustworthiness of the range estimation system were related to lower ERS. Moreover, range stress was found to be related to range satisfaction and BEV acceptance. Conclusion: The results underline the importance of the human factors perspective to overcome range anxiety and enhance sustainability of electric mobility systems. Application: Trustworthiness should be employed as a key benchmark variable in the design of range estimation systems, and assistance systems should target increasing drivers’ adaptive capacity (i.e., resilience) to cope with critical range situations.

Advancing electric vehicle range displays for enhanced user experience: the relevance of trust and adaptability

Advancing range-information user interfaces towards enhanced usability is a continuous task in electric vehicle development. The objective of the present research was (1) to examine experienced trustworthiness of a typical range-information user interface, (2) to test a newly constructed trustworthiness scale, (3) to examine the relationship of experienced trustworthiness to individual usable range (i.e., comfortable range), and (4) to identify possibilities for further improvement of range-information user interfaces. Data from N = 74 participants of a large-scale electric vehicle field trial were analyzed. Results show that experienced trustworthiness of the range estimation system is related to a higher comfortable range. Moreover, users developed several suggestions on how to further improve the user interface. The results imply that perceived trustworthiness should be considered as a benchmark for evaluating range-information user interfaces and that users should have flexible options to adjust the parameters of the range estimation system.

Electric Vehicles with Range Extenders: Evaluating the Contribution to the Sustainable Development of Metropolitan Regions

AbstractElectric vehicles play a key role in strategic development plans of urban regions in Europe because they are seen as a promising technology to promote environmental quality, livability, and...