California Air Resources Board

Principal Investigator/Author: Gil Tal

Contractor: University of California, Davis

Sub-contractors: Scott Hardman, Debapriya Chakraborty, Ken Kurani, Dahlia Garas, Matthew Favetti, Juan Carlos Garcia Sanchez

Contract Number: 22STC016

Project Status: Active

Relevant CARB Programs: Advanced Clean Cars Program, Research Planning

Topic Areas: Light-Duty Vehicles, Zero-Emission Vehicles (ZEVs), Market Transformation, Behavioral Economics, Research & Sustainable Communities

Research Summary:

The research question “who is buying used zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) and how are they being used?” requires unpacking the meaning of “who.” This includes understanding socio-economic, demographic, geographic, and behavior of not only buyers of used ZEVs but also buyers of new and used internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. Ensuring the benefits of vehicle electrification is inclusive of all households requires information to support policymaking to support both sales of used ZEVs and new mobility solutions that make electric vehicles (EVs) available to a broader spectrum of people. Two challenges in understanding the secondary ZEV market are (1) recruiting sufficient samples of used ZEV owners by different locations, socio-demographics, vehicle types etc., and (2) the ability to compare the sample of used ZEV buyers with other samples (including new ZEV buyers) to understand the impact of incentives and policies, and the impact of the used ZEVs on households that adopt them. To understand the benefits of used ZEVs in the secondary market the Contractor will compare them to new and used ICE vehicle owners and new ZEV adopters. This type of comparison can help to understand the trickle-down effect of incentives, expected market changes, the impact of used ZEVs on underserved communities and more. This project will provide information to the state of California to support decision-making for future programs and to assist the state in meeting its zero emission vehicle sales and equity goals.

Keywords: zero-emission vehicle (ZEV), advanced technology, clean technology, behavioral economics, incentives, light-duty vehicle, transportation, Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT), low carbon transportation, equitable climate policy, electric vehicles (EVs), secondary market