Context
This project focuses on points number 11 and 13 of the Suistainable Development Goals (SDGs) defined by the United Nations, namely “Sustainable cities and communities” and “Climate action”. The goal of SDG 11 is to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. The goal of SDG 13 is to regulate and reduce emissions and promote renewable energy. In order to meet these goals, which are also related to those of the Paris Agreement on climate change, namely halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, Switzerland must switch from fossil energy to sustainable energy sources. This also applies to the motorised transport sector, which in 2016 was responsible for 31.7% of all greenhouse gas emissions in Switzerland (BAFU, 2018). Our intention is to first show how the proportion of electric cars has changed from 2015 to 2021 and then investigate if there is a relationship between this proprotion and certain factors such as income, political orientation and district type. Understanding which factors can influence the purchase of an electric car is of crucial importance especially for policy makers, who have to ensure a push towards electric vehicles and more environmentally efficient means of transport.
Research questions
Through the creation of four maps, we want to answer four questions:1) How has the proportion of electric cars in Switzerland changed between 2015 and 2021? Are there any recognizable spatial and temporal patterns?
2) Is there a general relationship between the proportion of electric cars and the income?
3) Is there a general relationship between the proportion of electric cars and the political orientation?
4) Is there a general relationship between the proportion of electric cars and the district typology (rural, intermediate, urban)?
Hypothesis
In the period between 2015 and 2021, we expect a general increase in the proportion of electric cars due mainly to the green policies of recent years.
According to our hypothesis, the higher the income, the higher the proportion of electric cars over the total number of cars. This is because buying electric cars requires a major investment (high price of electric vehicles + installation of an electric socket for charging). This seems to be confirmed by Stockkamp at al (2021), who argue that there is a positive correlation between a higher salary and willingness to pay for an electric vehicle. In addition, through a survey Tomasi et al. (2021) identified that the most important barrier to purchasing an electric vehicle is currently its selling price.
There may also be a link with politics. We hypothesise that where the left/green parties are in the majority, the proportion of electric cars will also be higher. As confirmed by Stockkamp et al. (2021), a high level of environmental awareness and "green" political consciousness are important factors regarding the adoption of electric vehicles.
We also hypothesise that the type of region plays a role, i.e. rural regions tend to have fewer electric cars than city regions. Rural regions are sparsely populated and therefore the presence of charging stations is also more limited (physical accessibility of infrastructure). In addition, the longer distances that have to be covered to reach large centres, where most people work, can be a barrier to buying an electric car, which normally has a more limited mileage.