DETERMINANTS OF PUBLIC CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE FOR PLUG-IN ELECTRIC VEHICLES IN THE EUROPEAN UNION - USING FUZZY-SET QUALITATIVE COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS (FSQCA)

Electric vehicles are considered a critical answer for decarbonisation of the transportation sector. The European Green Deal calls for a carbon-neutral Europe by 2050. In 2021, more than four million EVs were active in the EU fleet. For this purpose, a robust public charging infrastructure allied with policies to incentivize home charging is necessary for meeting these objectives. We propose a model using fuzzy set Quality Comparative Analysis to better understand the necessary conditions and successful pathways for the development of public charging infrastructure in the European Union. The results show two equifinal solutions, the first one, nations with a higher population density and no incentives for public charging infrastructure, and the second, nations with presumably a lower population density and governmental incentives for the development of the public charging infrastructure; additionally, both groups present high levels of EVs per capita, sales share of EVs and GDP per capita. It is also possible to observe geographic and geopolitical similarities between the nations representing each solution. Thus, other political and sociocultural characteristics could be related to the deployment of public charging infrastructure. However, this merits further investigation by future research. This research could represent an insight to stakeholders, namely industry players and governments, on what are some of the characteristics that enable the development of the public infrastructure and which nations can serve as an example for policy implementation.