Impacts of COVID-19 on the electric vehicle industry: Evidence from China

The alternative path for fossil oil: Electric vehicles or hydrogen fuel cell vehicles?

New energy vehicles are accelerating to substitute for internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) and fossil oil. Although most literature acknowledges this trend, few compare two specific substitutable paths in terms of the operation system, namely electric vehicles (EVs) and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (HFCVs). This paper makes a comparative analysis of EVs and HFCVs in power sources, fuel storage and transportation, fuel supply infrastructure construction, and the cost and use of vehicles. Our findings indicate that electric passenger vehicles have more advantages in economy, safety, and environmental impact, in comparison with hydrogen fuel cell passenger vehicles. Nevertheless, great efforts should still be made to develop advanced rapid charging technology, shorten charging time, and accelerate charging infrastructure construction. Then, it is just around the corner for EVs to gradually take over from traditional motor vehicles driven by oil. In contrast, popularizing hydrogen fuel cell passenger vehicles faces several insurmountable obstacles in the short run, such as the high hydrogen production price, complicated storage process, and expensive hydrogen refueling station infrastructure. However, hydrogen fuel cell commercial vehicles have unique application scenarios. The dislocation and complementarity principle in different scenarios of EVs and HFCVs is supposed to be firmly grasped.

Exploring Consumer Behavior and Brand Management in the Automotive Sector: Insights from a Digital and Territorial Perspective

Human beings are strongly influenced by their emotions; so, it is believed that building a close relationship between consumers and brands is a key factor for success. In this way, car brands are no exception, and despite facing numerous challenges associated with the energy transition, they have to reinvent themselves, retaining a focus on offering a unique and personalized experience for the consumer without forgetting the factors that influence the decision-making process. Therefore, current research aims to understand the relationship between brand love and other behavioral constructs, including brand attachment, brand satisfaction, brand loyalty, and positive word of mouth, as well as its influence on consumer behavior in the Portuguese automotive market, more specifically regarding the brands Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz. Based on the literature review, a questionnaire survey was conducted on a group of 324 respondents. From this sample, it was possible to develop a conceptual model and formulate six research hypotheses. The results reveal that brand attachment and satisfaction have a positive influence on brand love, which has a positive influence on brand loyalty and positive word of mouth. In addition, brand attachment is positively related to brand loyalty, which has a positive impact on loyalty. Therefore, this article presents some insights from the perspective of digital marketing (i.e., e-WOM and social networks) and territory management (i.e., notoriety and positioning of territories). In the end, the limitations of the study will be presented, and guidelines for future research will be outlined.

Utilization of physical devices for the improvement of power quality indicators during the COVID-19 pandemic and uncoordinated integration of low carbon units

COVID-19 affected numerous sectors and changed traditional people’s behavior. The restrictions led to a decrease in consumption in industrial and business sectors, while electricity consumption in households significantly increased. To determine the correlation between COVID-19 and power quality (PQ), consumption curves relevant for different pandemic periods are used in the analysis of multiple PQ indicators in a real-world low voltage distribution network. The hard lockdown consumption curve is used as the reference for future scenarios with a high share of low carbon (LC) units including PVs, heat pumps, and electric vehicles. Simulations show that COVID-19 negatively impacted technical conditions in distribution networks and different methods based on the utilization of physical devices are tested to mitigate disturbances. We additionally test the potential of implemented methods in the decrease of technical and financial losses. Almost all methods contribute to the decrease of network losses, which is significantly important to Distribution System Operators (DSOs) due to the recent increase in electricity prices. The final contribution of the paper is finding a correlation between the PQ disturbances and financial losses. Results show the impact of the value of voltage unbalance on network losses, while other indicators do not present a significant problem. The results of simulations and drawn conclusions could be used as a guide for DSOs facing the uncoordinated penetration of LC units. Also, setbacks of the implemented method are detected as a first step in the further improvement of technical conditions.

Integrated decision recommendation system using iteration-enhanced collaborative filtering, golden cut bipolar for analyzing the risk-based oil market spillovers

This article is dedicated analyzing the interdependence of oil prices and exchange rate movements of oil exporting countries (the Russian ruble, Euro, Canadian dollar, Chinese yuan, Brazil real, Nigerian naira, Algerian dinar). The study also considers risk-based oil market spillovers in global crisis periods with integrated decision recommendation systems. For this purpose, a fuzzy decision-making model is created by considering the bipolar model and imputation of expert evaluations with collaborative filtering. The main contribution of this study is both its econometric analysis and evaluations based on expert opinions. This helps reach more crucial results. All three of the recent shocks (2008, 2012, 2020) in the oil market are transmitted to foreign exchange markets of oil-producing countries. At the same time, the last shock of 2020 caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has not yet been fully reflected on the Russian ruble exchange rate. Correlation parameters became weaker in the last year, as the Russian ruble correlation coefficient fluctuates between - 0.5 and 0.5. However, before 2020 the spillover effect had a higher significance (in the range from - 0.8 to - 0.1). Nigerian naira and Algerian dinar were showing almost the same movements, while the Russian Ruble was in a different trading range.

An Empirical Study on the Relationship between New Energy Vehicle’ Export Sophistication and Industrial Structure Upgrading in China

Following decades of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation industry, most car companies will stop producing petrol cars and promote the development of new energy vehicles in the near future, even in China. This study is based on energy vehicle exports using China's 31 provinces' panel data from 2010 to 2020. Considering that China mainly engages in processing trade, this study analyzes the domestic energy vehicle's export sophistication after deleting intermediate goods, measuring the relationship between export sophistication and industrial upgrading with static and dynamic panel models. Then, heterogeneity tests were deployed to examine the domestic export sophistication of three major economic belts partition. The results revealed that improving export sophistication is conducive to realizing China's industrial upgrading. China's new energy vehicles industry is positively affected by export sophistication, R&D, foreign direct investment, average GDP growth rate, market factors, and human resources over the long run. Regarding regional stratification, domestic export sophistication in the eastern and western regions has more significant effects on promoting industrial upgrading than in the central region. In particular, in western regions, every increase in export sophistication by one unit will bring a significant industrial upgrading effect. Given this, China's new energy vehicles should increase export sophistication to help the country's industrial upgrading.

The impact of COVID-19 on the market prospects of electric passenger cars

The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has caused changes worldwide in a dimension that has not been seen since the Second World War. This pandemic and the measures taken to moderate the negative consequences have affected almost all aspects of our life. Transport has been one of the most affected sectors. In general, the global car market is very sensitive to macroeconomic conditions. This applies especially to electric vehicles, which are still very dependent on financial support measures. A combination of travel restrictions, unemployment, and low oil prices could have significant impact on electric vehicles. This paper provides an overview of the development of electric vehicles and corresponding policies covering the period before and during the COVID crisis. Policy framework and the future development of the annual gross domestic product per capita have a significant impact on diffusion of battery electric vehicles. However, since the crisis is still ongoing, the full impact of the COVID crisis on mobility is still to be seen but the findings so far show rather favorable signs for electric mobility. This article is categorized under:Cities and Transportation > Electric Mobility.

A multiscale integrated analysis of the COVID-19 restrictions: The energy metabolism of UK and the related socio-economic changes

The COVID-19 pandemic and the related lockdown restrictions have imposed a wide range of impacts that need to be analysed based on the specific characteristics of countries. By comparing socio-economic and energy data for the four quarters of 2020 to the same period of 2019, the MuSIASEM approach is used, for the first time, to investigate the energy metabolism of UK during a period of economic downturn. Results show that the commercial and the public administration activities have been able to achieve energy efficiency increases, and the residential sector has accounted for energy-related economies of scale. The industrial and the other activity sectors, on the contrary, have raised the energy intensity of production. Comparted to time series data, scenarios, and modelling exercises, the MuSIASEM approach integrates a wide range of intensive and extensive variables across different scales of analysis and investigate how specific socio-economic and energy structures have reacted to the COVID-19 crisis. The methodology can be easily replicated for other case studies and results can support the design of recovery and sustainable transition strategies.

Formation of Nanochannels Using Polypropylene and Acetylcellulose for Stable Separators

In this study, a polymer separator with enhanced thermal stability is prepared to solve the problem of thermal durability of lithium-ion battery separators. This separator is manufactured by coating a solution of acetyl cellulose and glycerin on polypropylene. The added glycerin reacts with the acetyl cellulose chains, helping the chains become flexible, and promotes the formation of many pores in the acetyl cellulose. To improve the thermal stability of the separator, a mixed solution of acetyl cellulose and glycerin was coated twice on the PP membrane film. Water pressure is applied using a water treatment equipment to partially connect the pores of a small size in each layer and for the interaction between the PP and acetyl cellulose. SEM is used to observe the shape, size, and quantity of pores. TGA and FT-IR are used to observe the interactions. Average water flux data of the separators is 1.42 LMH and the decomposition temperature increases by about 60 °C compared to the neat acetyl cellulose. It is confirmed that there is an interaction with PP between the functional groups of acetyl cellulose.

Smart Building Technologies in Response to COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on society. Scientists are working to mitigate the impact in many ways. As a field closely related to human life, building engineering can make a great contribution. In this article, we started with the concept of the smart building as our guide. The impact of COVID-19 on daily energy consumption, information and communication technology, the ventilation of the interior environment of buildings, and the higher demand for new energy technologies such as electric vehicles is an entry point. We discuss how the concept of the smart building and related technologies (refrigeration, measurement, sensor networks, robotics, local energy generation, and storage) could help human society respond to the pandemic. We also analyze the current problems and difficulties that smart buildings face and the possible future directions of this technology.

Challenges of Electric Vehicles and Their Prospects in Malaysia: A Comprehensive Review

Electric vehicles (EVs) in Malaysia are gaining more attention and interest from the public. However, the electric vehicle’s exposure, awareness, and sales are still low compared to other countries. In this review, the challenges associated with implementing the electric vehicle culture in Malaysia are thoroughly reviewed, including the obstacles that the Malaysian government, policymakers, EV manufacturers, and EV users face in terms of EV cost, travel demand, charging station availability, impact on the power grid, and battery capacity. Then, all the identified challenges have been addressed by considering the user behavior, travel demand, socio-economical culture of Malaysia, current policies taken by the government of Malaysia, and the psychological outlook of Malaysians towards EV adoption. Moreover, potential suggestions have been proposed that the government of Malaysia may adopt during policy planning and when seeking to provide incentives to the users. Finally, a concrete conclusion has been drawn by disseminating the vision about the future of EVs in Malaysia. The proposed review of the technologies, challenges, prospects, and potential solutions associated with EV adoption in Malaysia can provide a base for proper strategic policy and help policymakers frame strategies to achieve the targets. This review could help achieve sustainable EV transport, and the successful implementation of Malaysian National Automotive Plan 2020, with the goal of adopting next-generation green vehicles.

Addressing External Shock in Urban Agglomeration: Implications From the Transmission Pattern of COVID-19 in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Area

Properly addressing external shocks in urban agglomeration is critical to sustaining the complex regional system. The COVID-19 pandemic has been widely acknowledged as an unintended external shock, but the temporal and spatial transmission patterns are largely ignored. This study analyzed the temporal and spatial transmission patterns of COVID-19 at the macro, meso, and micro levels, and proposes a conceptual model for regional comprehensive risk calculation, taking the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) area as the focus region. Our results showed that 1) at the temporal scale, the epidemic in the BTH area experienced stages of rapid increase, gradual decrease, and stabilization, and the first wave of the epidemic was under control from 23 February 2020; 2) at the spatial scale, confirmed cases were largely distributed at the terminal of the migration network, with closely interconnected cities in the BTH area, including Beijing, Tianjin, Tangshan, and Langfang, holding the highest comprehensive epidemic risk, thus requiring special attention for epidemic prevention and control. Finally, a “two-wheels” conceptual framework was built to discuss implications for future policies for addressing external shocks. Our proposed framework consists of an isolation wheel, which involves information sharing from the holistic perspective, and a circulation wheel, which emphasizes stakeholder involvement from the individual perspective. The findings of this study provide a knowledge basis for epidemic prevention and control as well as useful implications for addressing external shocks in the future.

Modeling potential impact of COVID-19 pandemic on global electric vehicle supply chain

The on-going COVID-19 pandemic and consequent lockdowns cast significant impacts on global economy in the short run. Their impact on stability of global electric vehicles (EVs) supply chain and thus our climate ambition in the long run, however, remains hitherto largely unexplored. We aim to address this gap based on an integrated model framework, including assessing supply risks of 17 selected core commodities throughout the EV supply chain and further applying the supply constraints to project future EV sales until 2030. Our model results under three pandemic development scenarios indicate that if the pandemic is effectively contained before 2024, the global EV industry will recover without fundamentally scathed and thus can maintain the same growth trend as in the no-pandemic scenario by 2030. We suggest that fiscal stimulus in the postpandemic era should be directed more toward upgrading the quality of battery products, rather than expanding the production capacity.

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Lithium is the most critical commodity for the electric vehicle industry

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Short-term COVID-19 pandemic will not cause constraints on the production side

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Long-term pandemic can seriously jeopardize electric vehicle market development

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Postpandemic policies should focus more on improving battery quality

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Development of Electromobility in Poland. The Perspective of Companies in the Transport-Shipping-Logistics Sector: A Case Study

Negative processes occurring in the natural environment, under dynamic economy development, have become a factor for taking actions limiting destructive human activity. An important area in which initiatives are taken to improve the state of the natural environment is that of companies in the Transport-Shipping-Logistics Sector (TSL sector). The main objective of this article was to analyse the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the development of electromobility among companies in the Polish TSL sector, and identify factors that positively influenced or hindered its development during this time. For this purpose, qualitative and quantitative data analyses were carried out based on a literature review, statistical data, and direct research results. Descriptive statistics, chi-square test of concordance, and contingency coefficients were used to process the data. The results showed that the pandemic period did not affect the development of electromobility among TSL companies. Only a few companies own electric cars in Poland. Many of them did not plan to purchase this type of vehicle during the pandemic. The main factors influencing the decisions of entrepreneurs during the study period were the availability of charging infrastructure and electricity price uncertainty. The results of the study can be used by stakeholders of this sector in Poland.

Impacts of COVID-19 on Electric Vehicle Charging Behavior: Data Analytics, Visualization, and Clustering

COVID-19 pandemic has infected millions and led to a catastrophic loss of lives globally. It has also significantly disrupted the movement of people, businesses, and industries. Additionally, electric vehicle (EV) users have faced challenges in charging their vehicles in public charging locations where there is a risk of COVID-19 exposure. However, a case study of EV charging behavior and its impacts during the SARS-CoV-2 is not addressed in the existing literature. This paper investigates the impacts of COVID-19 on EV charging behavior by analyzing the charging activity during the pandemic using a dataset from a public charging facility in the USA. Data visualization of charging behavior alongside significant timelines of the pandemic was utilized for analysis. Moreover, a cluster analysis using k-means, hierarchical clustering, and Gaussian mixture models was performed to identify common groups of charging behavior based on the vehicle arrival and departure times. Although the number of vehicles using the charging station was reduced significantly due to lockdown restrictions, the charging activity started to pick up again since May 2021 due to an increase in vaccination and easing of public restrictions. However, the charging activity currently still remains around half of the activity pre-pandemic. A noticeable decline in charging session length and an increase in energy consumption can be observed as well. Clustering algorithms identified three groups of charging behavior during the pandemic and their analysis and performance comparison using internal validation measures were also presented.

Determining the Factors That Influence Electric Vehicle Adoption: A Stated Preference Survey Study in Beijing, China

The transition from conventional vehicles (CVs) to electric vehicles (EVs) could be promising in tackling environmental challenges in China. Using a sample of 1216 respondents in Beijing, China, our study intends to understand the underlying factors that drive the decision to purchase an EV among potential Chinese vehicle purchasers. We built two choice models to estimate vehicle purchase behavior and fuel choice. We found that males and having higher household income are associated with greater intention to purchase EVs (both plug-in and battery electric vehicles). However, a previous inclination to choose CV negatively impacted willingness to buy EVs. Between specific EV types, we found that Plug-in Hybrid EV (PHEV) purchase was negatively associated with plans to obtain a driver’s license within three years and longer durations of having owned a motorized vehicle first. Yet, the number of electric bicycles in the household was positively associated with PHEV-purchase likelihood. For Battery EVs (BEV), we found that respondents who had previous experience with an EV (either as a driver or passenger) were more likely to purchase a BEV while existing ownership of a driver’s license and a higher purchase budget reduced such possibility. Based on our findings, we recommend authorities continue to, or increasingly, provide direct monetary incentives to purchase EVs, and to provide EV driving and riding experience to customers, especially who are in the middle- and low-income vehicle purchasing groups, to improve the Chinese EV market relative to CVs.

Evaluating Supply Chain Collaboration Barriers in Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises

The disruption has a significant impact on supply chain collaboration (SCC) which is an important task to improve performance for many enterprises. This is especially critical for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). We developed a decision-modeling framework for analyzing SCC barriers in SMEs for the emerging economy in Bangladesh. Through literature review and expert opinion survey, we have identified a comprehensive list of SCC barriers under four main categories, namely, information-related, communication-related, intra-organizational, and inter-organizational barriers. Then we applied the Grey DEMATEL and Fuzzy Best-Worst methods to evaluate these SCC barriers and compared the results. We also conducted a sensitivity analysis to assess the robustness of the proposed approach. The study reveals that lack of communication is the most crucial barrier in SCC, providing a model for assessing barriers in other emerging economies. This study contributes to the literature by analyzing SCC barriers and by comparing the results obtained from two different MCDM methods. The findings of this study can help decision-makers to plan for overcoming the most prioritized SCC barriers which ultimately contribute to improving the resilience and sustainability performances of SMEs.