Consumer preferences for public EV charging tariffs and infrastructure reliability: A choice experiment

Public charging infrastructure (CIS) and its corresponding tariffs are becoming increasingly important for growing the market share of electric vehicles. To investigate the optimal design of such tariffs by gaining a better understanding of how consumers value the different attributes and the reliability of CIS, a choice-based conjoint analysis was conducted with 516 participants in Germany. Results suggest that the energy price is the most important attribute. However, unlimited tariffs are not perceived as being the most beneficial: A medium energy price combined with a moderate monthly fee is considered the most attractive option across the sample. Increased reliability provides high utility compared to the current status quo of about 80 % successful charging sessions. Additional services, such as a towing service or a mobility guarantee, are not regarded as beneficial by most participants. Policies should focus on ensuring competition for attractive charging prices and for sufficient and reliable CIS.