The impact of green consumers on electric vehicle charging station diffusion based on complex network evolutionary game

Abstract

The disparity between the supply and demand for public charging stations impedes road vehicle electrification. The public charging station, a socially produced artefact, is subject to customer preferences and government regulatory limits. However, traditional knowledge does not completely capture the complex dynamics behind the public charging station investment, and a combined interactive decision review is inadequate. To examine enhanced dynamic interactions, this paper provides a complex network evolutionary game model. According to the findings, subsidies for charging infrastructure construction are more vital than electric vehicle subsidies. Under present market conditions, removing the electric vehicle subsidy reduces the market percentage of charging stations by 6%, whereas removing the charging station construction incentive results in a 35% decline. Second, charging price and charging station diffusion has an inverted U-shaped relationship, and increasing the oil price slows charging station dispersion. Third, the construction cost has less of an influence on charging station diffusion. Finally, green consumer preferences are the key driver of public charging station investment. An increase in consumer preference from 0.17 to 0.38 would lead to a 30% increase in the market share of the charging station industry from 53% to 83%. Based on these results, policy implications for the investment in public charging stations are discussed.