Abstract:

There is a worldwide movement towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions using renewable energy resources. Transportation is the primary source of greenhouse gases, which are mostly contributed by fossil fuel-driven automobiles. The entire world is now focusing on reducing the dependency on fossil fuels and switching to using electric vehicles. This initiative would alleviate air pollution, reduce dependence on oil imports, and improve business opportunities for electric vehicle manufacturing industries. However, unlike developed countries, India's electric vehicle market is sluggish due to technological, social, and economic barriers. This paper identifies various barriers through literature and interaction with domain experts. Subsequently, a hybrid structural model, a combination of AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) and DEMATEL (Decision making trial and evaluation laboratory), is used to evaluate those barriers. The AHP method helped in assimilating the weights or importance of barriers. The DEMATEL approach established the interactive relationships among the barriers and categorized them into cause-and-effect groups. The findings would help policymakers and manufacturers to develop strategies to enhance the penetration of electric vehicles in the Indian market.