In just 10 years, the number of electric vehicles (EVs) on the road has skyrocketed a hundredfold, from less than 10,000 in 2010 to 1.2 million in 2019 (Figure 1). This rapid increase has captured the attention of consumers and policymakers, bringing the ascent of transportation electrification into public discourse, and with it a focus on whether this trend presents benefits or problems. When assessing the opportunity for broad benefits across industry and society, there is a compelling case for transportation electrification. While many technology or societal trends benefit one group, the rise of EV adoption has revealed a strong case grounded in tangible benefits for a broad group of stakeholders. Research indicates there are significant benefits for utilities, customers, and society from investments in transportation electrification at the national, state, and local levels. As will be detailed later in this article, it is possible to calculate benefits for each of these groups, such as the lifetime cost savings to customers going from petroleum fuel to electric, the increased efficiency in utilization of the electric grid, the quantifiable economics of local job creation, and lower health costs for society. Figure 2 presents some of the key benefits that accrue to customers, utilities, and society that can help justify the investment and efforts around customer engagement for EVs.
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Hagerman et al. (2020) studied this question.