Article Preview
Top1. Introduction
Transport-related carbon emissions is one of the key contributing factors for the overall greenhouse gas emissions in the world. The rising demand for passenger and freight transport as well as rising urbanization have led to air and noise pollution, and health problems and aggravated the quality of life. This predicament, coupled with technological advances and rising fuel prices, have led to an exploration of the use of alternative energy sources in transportation. Electric Vehicle (EV) technologies have emerged as a promising solution in this field.
Although academic studies have shown that the potential benefits of using EVs are manifold, the widespread use of EVs in transport systems has not yet reached the desired levels, even in developed countries. A number of economic, social, political and technological factors are in play acting as barriers or enablers for the diffusion of EVs. For the wider adoption of EVs, it is important to frame these barriers and enablers within an integrated socio-technical context, which include several key elements such as favorable policy context, economic incentives, battery technology, charging infrastructure, user awareness, maintenance and repair facilities. The maturity level of these socio-technical elements is not sufficient in many countries to ensure a widespread transition to EVs. Turkey, which can be regarded as a follower country in terms of technology adoption, is at a very early stage in EV transition. The total number of EVs in Turkey is only around 1500 (Turizm Avrupa, 2019). The lack of infrastructure, clear policy objectives, economic incentives, consumer awareness and affordable vehicles are some of the major barriers for the adoption of EVs in Turkey.
In this study, the Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) is used to understand and interpret the current dynamics as well as predict the future dynamics influencing the use of EVs in Turkey. MLP offers a multi-actor, multi-dimensional and multi-layered perspective that can address the dynamics involved in technological transformations. Therefore, the institutional and regulatory complexities in countries like Turkey can be better addressed by drawing on MLP. MLP is used for the first time in analyzing the EV transition in a developing country, which fills an important gap in EV and socio-technical transition literature. The experience of Turkey presents useful lessons for similar developing countries going through the EV adoption process.
This study contributes to the literature by exploring the factors impacting the transition to EVs in Turkey through the MLP framework and proposing policies to facilitate the transition to EVs for developing countries. In the current literature, there is a gap about the transition to EVs in developing countries including Turkey, so this study is expected to fill that gap. Canitez (2019) defined developing settings as having “fragmented institutions, ambivalent transport and land use policies, lack of public awareness regarding sustainability, incompetent authorities, vested interests and clientelist political relations”. The socio-technical regime in those settings is structured around a set of rules, regulatory environment, institutional arrangements and governance practices which can differ from developed settings. Turkey is a good example of these developing countries where socio-technical factors create many barriers for the transition to EVs.
The rest of the paper is organized as follows. In the second part of the study, a short literature review is provided for the MLP and EVs. The third section describes the methodology. The fourth section gives an overview of the EV market in Turkey. The EV ecosystem in Turkey is examined through the levels of MLP, landscape, regime, and niche in the fifth sections. The sixth section provides a discussion of the three levels. The last section concludes the study.