Assessing the transition towards Battery Electric Vehicles: A Multi-Level Perspective on drivers of, and barriers to, take up

Berkeley, Nigel; Bailey, David; Jones, Andrew; Jarvis, David · 2017 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.1016/j.tra.2017.10.004

archive: archived pipeline: cataloged verified

Get this paper ↗ (DOI — opens at the source; we link to it, we don't host it)

Summary

This paper investigates the slow adoption of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) in Europe by applying the Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) framework to analyze the drivers and barriers influencing the transition from internal combustion engine (ICE) dominance. Motivated by the discrepancy between significant government investment and modest BEV market share, the authors aim to provide a holistic conceptualization of the socio-technical forces acting at landscape, regime, and niche levels. The study utilizes a comprehensive literature review of over one hundred academic outputs, alongside a meta-analysis of European sales data from sources such as the Automotive Industry Data Newsletter and ACEA, to assess the state of the market and identify key levers and barriers. The findings reveal that while environmental concerns, energy security, and economic imperatives have created a favorable "landscape push" for BEVs, significant "regime pull" barriers prevent mass market transition. In 2015, European BEV sales reached 90,000 units, representing only 0.7% market share, despite a 271% growth since 2012. Norway stands out as an exception, achieving over 17% market share due to a comprehensive package of incentives—including VAT exemptions, toll waivers, and free parking—that renders BEVs price-competitive with ICE vehicles. In contrast, countries like the UK and Germany lag behind, hindered by less aggressive incentives and policy uncertainty. The analysis identifies that BEVs remain a niche product struggling to disrupt an entrenched automotive regime characterized by established infrastructure, consumer habits, and vested interests. Barriers include high upfront costs, range anxiety, lack of charging infrastructure, and consumer skepticism regarding technology maturity. The significance of this research lies in its argument that current policy approaches are insufficient to bridge the "chasm" between niche adoption and mainstream disruption. The authors conclude that successful transition requires more holistic strategies that address multi-level interactions, particularly at local and regional scales where niche spaces are often protected. They emphasize that financial incentives alone are inadequate; instead, policies must ensure long-term certainty, invest in infrastructure, and address the spatial variations in local ecosystems. The paper suggests that for BEVs to effectively disrupt the ICE regime, policymakers must move beyond fragmented interventions and adopt strategies that align landscape pressures with regime-level changes, potentially leveraging local governments as powerful promoters of sustainability transitions.

Provenance

The full processing record for this entry. Every stage of this paper's journey through the pipeline is logged — what ran, with which tool and model, how many attempts it took, and when it last completed.

Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-26; verification: verified.

Topics

Ranked by relevance to this paper. Hover a topic for its definition.

• acceptance adoption