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Rapid technological change in the transport sector is leading to a growing range of potential and actual ‘business models’ deployable for the movement of goods and people. Two key uncertainties arise from this proliferation: first, concerning which ones can be economically viable, and, second, whether they can be both simultaneously economically viable and contribute to the imperatives of more sustainable mobility. The present chapter reviews and appraises the emergence of these new business models, drawing on both literature review and empirical research with entrepreneurs involved in the new mobility sector. Specifically, the potential of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (UN, n.d.) as a device to structure and frame the debate about what constitutes a valuable contribution to sustainable mobility is considered. A framework is developed which captures how mobility and transport have dependencies with the SDGs. From this analysis, key sustainability concepts are derived which have either a subsistence function (maintaining the basics of human life) or an enhancement function (enabling citizens to realise their potential whilst reducing impacts on the planet). Five different innovations involving mobility sector business entrepreneurship are then characterised using this framework to exemplify its ability to deconstruct and test claims that ‘smart mobility’ is also good for sustainability as well as good for business. It is concluded that the framework could contribute to a wider architecture of sustainability interrogation. It could promote discourse around a wide range of actors, posing questions and surfacing tensions and contingencies effectively, whilst providing a holistic, strategic assessment to inform more targeted, scientific evaluations of sustainability metrics.

The chapter provides a general review of the policy debate around the provision of formal Park-and-Ride (P&R) facilities and the empirical research evidence about travellers’ responses to the opportunities they present, drawing on evidence from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The effects of the schemes on road traffic and car dependence are considered.

The different ways in which private vehicles and public transport are combined during journeys are reviewed. The position of P&R is considered as a modal variant within a ‘socio-technical system’ competing with the more established journey options of fully private and fully public transport. Scenarios which can maximise the traffic reduction and sustainable development potential of P&R are examined.

The review of the policy context establishes that a range of policy objectives are conceived for P&R depending on different professional and citizen perspectives. There is partial understanding amongst local authorities about the effectiveness with which P&R addresses the range of objectives in practice. The key travel behavioural findings are that only a portion of P&R users’ car trips are shortened. Hence, overall increases in car use occur, combined with overall reductions in public transport use, and in some cases less active travel. Where dedicated public transport services are operated, these are also a further source of additional traffic.

P&R implementations are generally successful where they are explicitly for providing more parking for economic growth or traffic management reasons, rather than to enhance sustainable mobility. The essential conditions for traffic reduction to occur in future are a strategic subregional integrated parking and public transport strategy which achieves interception of car trips early and ensures public transport services remain attractive for a range of access modes.

The chapter provides a synthesis of work by a number of leading authors on the topic and includes elements of originality in the combination of the established knowledge, the addition of novel insights, and in overall interpretation.

The chapter draws on the key findings from across the previous chapters in this book with a view to reaching a synthesis which responds to the key question that motivated the book: ‘to what extent does a shift to electric automobility suggest a sustainable future for the passenger car?’ Across the chapters is found evidence for a clear and apparently unstoppable transition to electric mobility, but this does not mean it is harmonious and smooth; the transition itself faces potential disruption, as well as being disruptive to the status quo through creating new forms of conflict over space and material resources. Nonetheless, meanwhile internal combustion engine vehicle (ICEV) sales continue to exceed electric vehicle (EV) sales, even if the margin reduces, and there is the enormous problem of inertia presented by the established global ICEV fleet.

Considering the current dynamics of consumer demand for electric cars, a complex set of factors and preferences have been shown to have influence, but the interrelated factors of range and total cost of ownership stand out as the key ones. Prospects for accelerating the rate of transition are identified, but a further important dynamic is the slow rate of turnover in an established vehicle fleet dominated by ICEs: consideration is therefore given to the potential for retrofit EV conversions.

Looking to the future, the cost and performance of battery technology remains a critical and uncertain factor in the rate and depth of the transition to EVs, but the wider context of mobility practices and policies in which that change occurs is also fundamental. The EV transition sits entwined with other novel and substantial changes to our long-established systems of automobility that are becoming visible on the horizon. Relatively expensive to buy but cheap to use, and also hard to tax, EVs will necessitate a shift away from pay-up-front to pay-as-you-go road use, while the development and full realisation of Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) systems could herald a fundamental change in the basis of owning and using cars. In conclusion, a sustainable future for the car implies not just a new way of powering it, but a different role for the car in both the economy and society.

Observations worldwide suggest that climate heating has moved from the stage of being a conceptual future threat to being widely recognisable as having a tangible and present impact in the 2020s. The promotion of the electric car, as a key feature of the wider electrification of mobility, is one of the key policy initiatives seeking to reduce climate change emissions from the transport sector, particularly in the wealthier, more car-dependent states globally. Such developments led the International Energy Agency to question, in 2020, whether we had entered the decade of “electric drive” (IEA, 2020). However, electric motive power is not new. Electric cars have been around for longer than the internal combustion engine (ICE). The century-long dominance of the latter is explained by a number of advantages and contextual factors. In the 2020s, whilst some of the barriers to EV adoption have reduced, others, notably battery energy density and cost to the consumer, remain. And the consequences of the transition to electric cars will be felt not solely in respect of greenhouse gas emissions, but will affect economic production, the relative demand for resources and human skills, social and technical practices, travel behaviour, and the extent to which all citizens are included in/excluded from mobility systems, and hence wider society.

The present chapter introduces the principal themes of the book, outlining the narrative through its 4 parts and 11 subsequent chapters. In doing so, it underlines the importance of the transition from the internal combustion engine to the electric motor as not simply a technical substitution, but a potential revolution that could radically change the economy, society, and hopefully the environment, for the better. Now is an important moment to be charting and examining the rise of the electric car and exploring whether it represents a step towards more sustainable mobility.

In this chapter, we draw on social science theoretical and empirical literatures to discuss the factors that influence buying and using an electric vehicle (EV), as well as how adopting an EV can impact on other travel choices or broader sustainability behaviours. We provide an overview of theories of technology adoption, which expose the interplay of individual, technological, and societal factors that dictate how rapidly a technology will spread throughout society. From the empirical literature, we show that far from being a purely economic or pragmatic decision, choosing an EV is also deeply grounded in social, moral and personality factors, such as self-presentation, norms and values, and appetite for risking the novel. Furthermore, since running an EV is not the same as running an internal combustion engine vehicle (ICEV), we explore how adopters adjust their behaviour to the technology, and also how EV ownership may trigger or undermine broader shifts in lifestyle required to achieve climate change and other sustainability goals. We therefore provide a critical reflection on the drivers, barriers, and behavioural implications of choosing an EV.

This chapter is a review and discussion of the experience of becoming an Electric Vehicle (EV) owner, with a focus on the importance of online EV communities on social media platforms in providing informal support to new owners during the transition into EV ownership and use.

Becoming an EV owner represents a significant disruption to drivers’ very established and comfortable driving practices. Electric cars force their owners to re-think long-habitual aspects of the driving experience, including driving behaviour, refuelling (practicalities and etiquette), route planning, and the extent of the car’s ‘sphere of access’.

Because of this disruption, new EV owners regularly encounter challenges, including charging, range, new technology, route planning, etiquette, and more. People often need support to overcome these challenges, and EV owner groups on social media are an important source of such support; new owners can receive advice on a range of issues. This chapter presents data extracted from EV owner social media group posts, analysing the discussions and advice that EV owners offer one another, and exploring the various forms of important support available to new owners/drivers.

This chapter shows how online EV communities are very actively used by EV owners and are of particular importance for new owners. These communities welcome new owners/drivers, offer support and advice, respond to questions, give recommendations, and encourage socialising and a form of group identity/bonding. With EV ownership rapidly increasing in many countries, online EV communities have a very important role to play in helping facilitate the international transition to electric mobility.

Electric vehicles are often positioned as a politically easy option for low-carbon mobility, compared to other options, such as cycling, public transit, and walkable communities. This is difficult to assess confidently, however. The rate of adoption for electric vehicles that will be necessary over the next few decades to avoid the worst consequences of climate change will bring about new political struggles. This chapter uses a political-economic analysis to discuss what these struggles might look like. Using literature on the structure of automobility, along with evidence on the ways which electric vehicles disrupt the existing systems built around private car use, it discusses how a rapid transition to electric mobility will affect the material interests of various groups. One big impact will be on production, where the radical changes necessary to re-tool the auto industry to build electric vehicles will create major risks for car companies and their workers. A second impact will be on infrastructure, where the conversion of parking space into electric vehicle charging stations could arouse local political opposition, particularly in cities. Finally, electric vehicles might conflict with the cultural and symbolic lock-in of conventional vehicles, resulting not only in slower adoption but also the potential for active resistance against electric vehicle policies and infrastructure. Taken together, this implies that electric vehicles will not be a form of low-carbon mobility that is free of political struggle. Widespread electrification of private automobility could be aggressively opposed by powerful groups who have strong economic incentives to do so.

The materials and energy density of current electric vehicles (EV) battery technology means that the vehicles are heavier and have a shorter range in comparison to internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEV). Battery cost also means EVs are relatively expensive for the consumer, even with government incentives, and dependent on sometimes-rare resources being available. These factors also limit the applicability of battery-electric technologies to heavy-duty vehicles. However, a number of next generation technologies are under laboratory development which could radically change this situation. Using a follow-the-money methodology, the strategic innovations of companies and public institutions are examined. The chapter will review the potential for changes in resource inputs, higher-density batteries and cost reductions, considering options such as lithium-air, metal-air and solid-state technologies. The innovations outlined in these technologies are considered from an economic perspective, identifying their advantages and disadvantages in commercialisation. At the same time, innovations, and investments in infrastructure electrification (Electric Road Service) and battery exchange point with swapping technology will be also considered due their implications and contribution to solving battery-related challenges and shortcomings. It is concluded that only a joint investment in effort on technologies would allow the use of EVs to be extended to a broad public in terms both of users and geography.