Date of Award

Spring 5-5-2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science (BS)

Department

Economics

First Advisor

Monica Das

Second Advisor

Peter von Allmen

Third Advisor

Patrick Reilly

Abstract

This research examines the effects of state tax incentives on the market penetration of electric vehicles (EVs), while also delving into other variables such as charging port availability, state political affiliation, state gas prices, and vehicle price levels, utilizing data ranging from 2011 to 2020. These definable variables influence in an individual’s decision when considering purchasing an EV. Using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) methodology, I am able to analyze the specific effects of these independent variables on the number of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), battery electric vehicles (BEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and all EVs sold in each state. My results find a significant positive relationship between states who offer charging station incentives and vehicle tax credits and the number of EVs sold in that state. Specifically, a 2.93% increase in EVs sold per capita in states who offered charging station incentives and a 2.52% increase in EVs sold per capita in states who offered vehicle tax rebates. I conclude that in order to increase the market penetration of EVs in a state, state governments should adopt state tax incentives and legislators must think of ways to responsibly recycle these batteries when they are no longer usable.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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