Indicators of Potential Use of Electric Vehicles in Urban Areas: A Real-Life Survey-Based Study in Hail, Saudi Arabia

Electric vehicles (EVs) emit no emissions from the exhaust, but the energy mix used to generate the power needed to charge them typically does. Sustainable mobility services are essential to raising the standard of living in metropolitan regions to address issues associated with urban mobility, such as increasing air pollution, noise pollution, traffic congestion, and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) [1,2,3].

The sales of EVs have experienced a remarkable surge since their introduction to commercial markets in the early years of the last decade. In 2010, the global number of EVs on the roads was approximately 17,000. However, by 2019, this figure had skyrocketed to 7.2 million, with around 47% of EVs being registered in China. Moreover, nine countries had exceeded the milestone of 100,000 EVs in circulation, while at least twenty countries achieved market shares surpassing 1%. This substantial growth reflects the increasing adoption and popularity of EVs worldwide [4]. Figure 1 shows that the number of EVs increased significantly globally during the period from 2010 to 2020. This calls for a need to study the use of EVs in general. User opinions also play an important role in the transition from traditional cars to EVs. This work aims to clarify the opinions of Saudi society—in this case, Hail City—on the adoption of EVs. The findings may not only shape the future of transportation in Hail but also serve as a blueprint for other urban areas grappling with similar sustainability concerns.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is a sovereign nation located in the Middle East on the Arabian Peninsula. It covers an expansive area of approximately 2.15 million square kilometers, making it the largest country in the Middle East and the 13th largest in the world [6,7]. With a population of over 34 million people, the KSA has experienced substantial growth over the years [6]. The KSA has long been renowned for its abundant reserves of fossil fuels, particularly oil [8]. The KSA’s vast solar resources make it particularly suitable for solar photovoltaic (PV) technology [9]. The KSA can unlock numerous benefits by harnessing its solar potential, including reduced GHG emissions, improved air quality, energy diversification, and enhanced energy security. The government has embarked on an ambitious RE plan to generate 50% of the country’s electricity from renewable sources by 2030 [10,11,12]. This plan includes significant investments in solar and wind power projects and the development of a robust infrastructure to support RE integration [12]. The Saudi Standards, Metrology, and Quality Organization published a standard governing the use of EVs in the KSA in 2018 [13]. The nation started its green drive in 2021 to lessen the effects of climate change. One of the initiatives is to raise the proportion of EVs to 30% of all vehicles in Riyadh [14].

Figure 2 shows the balance between the production, consumption, and imports of energy resources in the KSA in 2018. The graph indicates a gross of 586.3 Mtoe in oil production, 43.4 Mtoe in oil product import, and 79.1 Mtoe in natural gas production, with the total export being 492.4 Mtoe in 2018. There were also statistical differences and stock changes. In the KSA, Fahmy et al. [15] projected an electric consumption of 399.2145 TWh in 2020; consumption will rise to 496.1887 TWh by 2025. The share of energy-related CO₂ emissions in the KSA from the transport sector was 19% in 2018. This share was high compared to other G20 countries but had reduced by 25% in the period 2014–2019 [10]. It is also critical to note that the KSA already has a few electric vehicle charging stations (EVCSs) built and recently announced that it will begin producing EVs.

There are few research studies on the potential of EVs in cities, especially real-life survey-based analyses. These studies tell us about what makes people want to buy EVs and the problems they face. The literature documents the global trends in EV adoption, highlighting the increasing interest and market share of EVs in different urban areas. Lee and Clark [16] examined additional developments needed for EVs to have a significant impact on auto fleets. They used various gasoline and battery costs as well as discount rates to compare the costs of batteries for cars, plug-in hybrids, and internal combustion engine vehicles. According to their analysis, battery-only vehicles are very financially viable, although plug-in hybrids are generally more expensive than automobiles with internal combustion engines (ICEs). Milligan et al. [17] investigated the performance of EVs that were operated over short- and long-range tests in Scotland, United Kingdom (UK). The results reveal that the actual performance of an EV’s range could be seventeen percent lower than the actual mileage predicted by the EV’s manufacturer.

The literature also addresses the challenges and barriers hindering widespread EV adoption. Because of their economic and environmental benefits, wind and solar energy are regarded as reliable substitutes for traditional energy sources, and it can be argued that they are the most suitable sources for the charging infrastructure of EVs, as reported by Alkawsi et al. [18]. According to economic research, although EVs have initial costs that are higher than those of ICE cars, the operating costs and environmental advantages can differ greatly depending on the energy mix and local electricity prices, as reported by Rapson and Muehlegger [19]. Ottesen et al. [20] investigated Kuwaiti ICE drivers’ opinions regarding EVs, focusing on EV characteristics, features, enablers, and barriers. According to the study, more than half of the participants would purchase an EV over the next three years, provided several requirements were satisfied.

Numerous studies have explored consumer attitudes and perceptions toward EVs. Saputra and Andajani [21] used an online questionnaire to examine the effects of attitudes, subjective norms, behavioral control perceptions, moral norms, environmental awareness, financial incentive policies, and risk perceptions on the desire to adopt EVs in Indonesia. The findings suggest that subjective norms and attitudes do not substantially affect intentions to adopt EVs. However, financial incentives, moral standards, perceived behavioral restraints, and environmental concerns all have a positive and considerable influence on readiness to use EVs. Three categories were used by Shrestha et al. [22] to group research studies on range anxiety among EV users: user perceptions, range-affecting factors, and mitigation techniques. Consumers are dubious about modern EVs’ ability to fulfill daily needs, notwithstanding their capabilities. In 2021, Schelte et al. [23] conducted an exploratory study on the acceptance of battery switching and solar CSs (charging stations) by users in Germany. According to the authors, between 50 and 80 percent of prospective users of sharing systems want to embrace solar CSs and battery-swapping stations. The majority of respondents (71–77%) agreed that they think solar charging and battery-swapping stations are easy to use. Ninety-six percent of respondents believed that inductive charging for solar CSs is easy to use. According to the authors, most respondents would find a discount between 10% and 20% off the next sharing trip to be an adequate incentive. More females than males plan to utilize solar CSs, while more male respondents want to use battery-swapping stations. Aguilera-García et al. [24] conducted a preliminary investigation on the demand for moped sharing in Spain. Their study offers a better understanding of the shared moped industry and its potential effects on urban transportation. The findings suggest that the primary drivers of the future prospective use of these services appear to be age, occupation, income, and environmental consciousness. By surveying EV owners and non-owners alike and establishing a link between range anxiety and the ideal distance between nearby CSs, Pevec et al. [25] were able to quantify range anxiety. While the majority of the respondents who do not own an EV are from Croatia, the bulk of EV owners are based in the US or the UK. The average ideal distance between nearby CSs was determined by both participant groups to be approximately 7 km, as reported by the authors. Khaleghikarahrodi et al. [26] explored the idea that the charging behavior of EV users might be significantly influenced by battery size. The authors discovered that users with batteries larger than 21 kWh may go farther between charges as they often put off charging. Thirteen percent of US adults stated that they do not plan to buy a car, and half said that they are not too or not at all inclined to consider buying an EV. Compared to May 2022, the percentage of the population interested in buying an EV has decreased by 4 percentage points in 2023 [27]. In 2019, Bienias et al. [28] surveyed to find out the preferences of Polish automobile buyers. According to the authors, 80.8 percent of the respondents had purchased a car with a conventional engine, just 1.9 percent had opted for an EV, and 3.8 percent had purchased a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV). Just 3.8% of the participants stated that they were undecided, while 9.6% stated that they had not decided to buy any kind of car. The primary barrier appears to be the expense of EVs and HEVs. Customers anticipate receiving a tax break or subsidy to lessen their financial burden. Ruan and Lv [29] analyzed public perceptions of EVs expressed on online social networks (OSNs) based on two large datasets collected from Reddit and Twitter. The authors speculated that the public’s views on EVs and relevant topics may differ across different OSNs. Except for the mega-influencer Elon Musk, the results show that the two main groups of important people influencing EV conversations are politicians and the news media. Despite the public’s generally negative reaction towards EVs, the authors found that legislators have become more positive during these discussions. An investigation into the potential use of EVs among participants from five different KSA regions was conducted by Almutairi [30] using a survey. This study asked about the respondents’ age, gender, place of residence, type of car they drove, the likelihood of purchasing an EV, typical journey distance, points of departure and arrival, and preferred location for auto charging. After being presented, the data analysis revealed that more than 80 percent of the participants were either definitely inclined or probably inclined to acquire an EV within the following five years. This study also showed that about 28% of families have three cars, and less than that have one to two cars; on the other hand, about 10% have more than five cars.

A total of 61 percent of EV owners in the EU charge their EVs at home, while fifteen percent charge their EVs at work. According to Bailey et al. [31] in Canada and Almutairi [30] in the KSA, the home was selected by over 60% of the participants as the best location for EV charging. A study by Todts and Mathieu [32] found that nearly 25% of EVs are charged using public chargers. The percentage of home charging is anticipated to decrease from 61% in 2020 to 45% in 2030. Obstacles that prevent the adoption of EVs remain in place despite their apparent cost reduction when compared to conventional cars. The opinions of Dutch EV drivers regarding vehicle-to-grid were examined by Van Heuveln et al. [33], who also provided details on the factors influencing drivers’ adoption of this technology. The authors discovered that remuneration, transparent system operations, and reliable user control are the most important factors in encouraging user adoption. Sendek-Matysiak and Łosiewicz [34] listed several incentives that can help EV adoption become more widespread, including tax breaks, the ability to install wall chargers in customers’ homes, unrestricted access to highways, additional co-financing for EV purchases, and the reimbursement of a portion of the purchase price. The consequences of adopting electrified passenger automobiles in Regina, Canada, were studied by Xu et al. [35]. Their survey found that most Regina residents support wind farms, and 25% said they would install solar panels on their roofs even if they were not paid for doing so. Wang et al. [36] evaluated customer acceptability of EVCSs in Hangzhou, China, to understand the mechanisms underlying acceptance and improve user adoption. Assessments were carried out to examine the variables influencing acceptance willingness and differences in EVCS acceptance among social groups. The results showed that 81.2 percent of the participants were willing to use EVCS.

Almohaimeed [5] conducted a statistical analysis of the effect that EV charging has on the KSA’s electricity grid. According to the data, EV peak loads happen in the late evening and early morning. It is interesting to note that this research study demonstrates that the off-peak hours of the daily load curve correspond to the peak EV periods. Accordingly, a large EV population can improve and provide flexibility to the country’s electric grid; also, the cumulative EV load of a large EV population follows a smooth pattern and does not affect the country’s electric system. This is consistent with Sheldon and Dua’s findings [37]. In that study, most participants said that they visited a gas station once or twice a week, and the majority (more than 70%) of the respondents said they traveled between 10 and 60 km per day. By taking into account the energy mix, Elshurafa and Peerbocus [38] calculated the net carbon emissions related to the deployment of EVs in the KSA. The Kingdom intends to use a significant quantity of RE. The social and economic benefits could increase if policies promoting RE sources and EV deployment are taken into consideration at the same time. In contrast, a net rise in emissions occurs in the worst-case scenario. The findings also show that there is no discernible difference in emission reduction between the time that EVs are charged and other factors. Although time-of-use pricing can still be used to alleviate some of the loads on the power system by moving charging to off-peak hours, it is not a viable strategy for encouraging the reduction in emissions.

Urban planning and infrastructure development play a crucial role in shaping the feasibility of EV integration. Mishra et al. [39] reviewed the latest developments in planning, designing, and operating the CS for the use of EVs. They addressed ways to use RE resources to produce the needed energy. The development of EVs and their charging infrastructure can lower this sector’s harmful emissions, but more research is necessary to determine the potential damage this sector could cause. The authors concluded that the acceptance of EVs is influenced by the lack of proper batteries that can carry enough energy for an elongated distance and length of time. Charging EVs from solar PV systems offers two significant advantages: sustainability and economics. Solar-powered EV charging demonstrates higher energy efficiency, lower net emissions, and reduced environmental impact compared to conventional methods [40,41]. Furthermore, the declining costs of PV systems have already made solar PV electricity more affordable than conventional electricity in many regions worldwide. In certain car segments, the total cost of ownership for an EV is already lower than that of a comparable internal combustion engine vehicle [41].