UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies

This interim report provides a status update on relevant findings in the Advanced Plug in Electric Vehicle Travel and Charging Behavior Project. The purpose of this project is to understand the emissions potential of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) under real world conditions, highlight benefits and challenges, and present needs for future electric vehicles. The project provides a platform to monitor how new PEVs are being used on a day to day and month to month basis within the household travel context by placing data loggers in participant households for a period of one year. The project provides a common basis to evaluate technologies side by side in a consistent way. The project began with studying 3 models of plug in vehicles: The Toyota Plug-in Prius, the first generation Chevrolet Volt, and the first generation Nissan Leaf. As the project has progressed, 6 new models have been added: the Ford C-Max Energi, Ford Fusion Energi, second generation Volt, second generation Leaf with 30kWh pack, the BMW i3 REx, and the Tesla Model S. Based on learnings from the first deployment of vehicles, households with 2 PEVs have been added to the study as an important next step to understand the transition to electric vehicles. As new questions emerge, the project can help answer them in a timely manner