The impact of policy levers on adoption of battery swapping technology: insights using technology acceptance model [TAM]

Abstract

The ecosystem of ‘Battery swapping technology’ (BST) and ‘Battery-as-a-Service’ (B-a-a-S) business brings a variety of benefits to the consumers that have been identified as potential barriers to the adoption of plug-in electric vehicles. The literature that is currently available is skewed towards plug-in electric vehicles or electric vehicles in general, especially in the Indian context. In essence, there has been very little literature from the point-of-view of emerging sustainable mobility solutions in general and battery swapping ecosystem in specific. Contemporary research on battery swapping in the Indian context has not explored the acceptance and adoption of this technology by consumers. This study addresses this research gap by application of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to the battery-swapping ecosystem. In this study, a hypothetical model incorporating policy levers from the battery-swapping policy was constructed and tested. Finally, the study has attempted to extend the work done on the ‘Policy Acceptance Model’ (PAM) by developing a similar framework. The study has found that, contrary to several criticisms laid on the policy, the levers provided are significant in driving EV adoption. Two specific policy levers viz., ‘Implementation and Institutional Framework’ and ‘Standardisation and Interoperability’ are found to be comparatively more significant than other policy levers. In addition to this, alternative mechanisms such as ‘low-cost financing’ and ‘Disincentives for ICE adoption’ also play a crucial role in driving EV adoption in the near future.