Do we really consider their concerns? User challenges with electric car sharing

Abstract

Electric car sharing is highlighted as a needed solution for reducing air pollution and the emission of fossil fuels. Unfortunately, its dissemination in many places is too slow and the market is still not profitable. This calls for research about whether electric car sharing corresponds to users’ conditions and concerns. This article applies the domestication theory examining insights gained from in-depth interviews with participants joining a car-sharing trial in a low-income, suburban area with rental apartments. The aim is to understand the initial adoption of electric car sharing, focusing on the challenges facing users. The findings reveal three interrelated processes and various challenges to be considered: making the technology understandable and useful, integrating car sharing in everyday practices, and negotiations and communications about the proper way to share a car. Besides the environmental advantages of sharing, the social benefits and how it might enrich everyday life should be stressed.

Keywords:

• Electric car sharing
• user
• technology adoption
• domestication
• qualitative
• interviews

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank the participants in the car-sharing trial and the members of the University West research team: Lars-Olof Johansson, Ulrika Lundh Snis, Suzana Ramadani Olsson, Viktoria Färnefors, Christian Master Östlund, and Anna Sigridur Islind for their involvement and for sharing their views and experience as well as the housing company EIDAR and the car manufacturer NEVS for their assistance in the project. We also want to thank the reviewers for their valuable suggestions and guidance on earlier versions of this manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

This work was part of the SESMA-project funded by Vinnova—the Swedish innovation Agency within the Strategic Innovation Program Drive Sweden (Grant No. 2018-02051).