Human factors and ergonomics in the individual adoption and use of electric vehicles

Electric vehicles (EVs) can contribute to sustainable individual road transport. That is, they constitute one key element in the broader context of sustainable urban design, which also incorporates important further measures such as promoting public transport, cycling, and walking. However, for EVs to achieve an optimal sustainability effect, several human factors issues need to be addressed. The present chapter gives an overview of ergonomics research in this field with a focus on battery electric vehicles (BEVs). We focus on four core areas: (1) the acceptance of BEVs (e.g. perceived barriers, the effect of practical experience, range acceptance), (2) user interaction with BEV range (e.g. range comfort zone, range stress, or range anxiety), (3) users’ charging behaviour (e.g. interaction styles, green charging), and (4) ecodriving in EV usage (e.g. representation of energy flows, ecodriving control strategies). This overview demonstrates the importance of a comprehensive understanding and support of user-resource interaction in order to realise the sustainability potential of EVs.