-This video aims at understanding the size and the nature of the changes electric vehicles bring into mobility. For this it relies on concepts that we will explain: mobility systems, technological transition and systemic innovation. Just like you learned it in the first videos of this MOOC, an individual's mobility is not only an individual practice defined by all the travels over a given period of time. It is also a social practice in the sense that it is sized, structured, modeled by factors linked to societal organization, public policies, cultural values, etc. Mobility comes as the result of arbitrations between aspirations, resources and constraints of an individual and social nature. If we choose this approach, mobility is considered as a system and even a system of systems if we consider that the mobility system includes all the transport systems corresponding to each transport mode: public such as buses, subways, trains, planes, etc., and the private elementary mobility systems such as cars, bikes, walking, etc. Actors who interact within this system are classified in three categories. First category: users of the mobility system. They can be individuals or companies. In economic terms, they are sometimes called the demand actors. As a first approach, they are the ones consuming mobility. Second category: transport operators, energy and infrastructure providers, vehicle manufacturers, infrastructure managers. In economic terms, they are sometimes called supply actors. They are the ones producing mobility. Third category: local, national and supranational public authorities, transport authorities and regulation authorities. These actors regulate mobility and are responsible for taking into consideration the interests of a fourth category that is outside the mobility system: the affected actors. They suffer or benefit from the negative or positive, local or global, externalities of mobility as it is consumed, produced and regulated by the first three categories. Electric vehicles struggled to become a plausible alternative to thermal vehicles over the last decades, despite significant improvements in terms of performance and battery costs, mainly because during the past century, thermal vehicles prevailed as the dominant socio-technical system within the modern mobility systems. Thus, the success of electric vehicles as replacements or complements of thermal vehicles involves an actual technological transition process. That is to say changes in the vehicle itself but also in the organization modes and professions of the automotive industry, in the parking infrastructures and the electric networks, in the equipment selections and mobility practices, and in the regulations in particular. Electric vehicles are thus not intended to replace thermal vehicles, all else being equal. Together, we will go through the changes provoked and required by the development of electric mobility. If we limit ourselves to private cars to understand through a specific case the changes brought by electric vehicles from the demand side of the mobility system, we note that these changes are of two kinds mainly. First, the purchase of an electric vehicle, either by an individual or a company, implies changes in the chosen automotive equipment. The purchase price of electric vehicles is usually higher compared to thermal vehicles because of the high cost of the batteries that provide its energy. In return, in most countries around the world, electric vehicles are a way to ensure economies when used compared to thermal vehicles since the cost price of the electricity required for the battery to drive a given distance is usually lower than that of oil-derived fuels, petrol or diesel, required to drive the same distance. Apart from their cost, electric vehicles also display characteristics and performances, especially in terms of comfort, acceleration and autonomy, which are different than that of thermal vehicles. Thus, purchasers need to perform new arbitrations. On the other hand, the use of electric vehicles implies changes in mobility practices. Indeed, as we already said it, battery-type electric vehicles are notably characterized by a more limited autonomy compared to thermal vehicles. Depending on the model and the travel speed, recent battery-type electric vehicles can travel between 100 and 400 km after a full charge while recent thermal vehicles can travel between 600 and 1 000 km. The relative restricted autonomy of electric vehicles can change mobility practices in two ways. First, it increases the refueling frequency, for instance from a few times per month to a few times per week. It also extends refueling times. From a few minutes for a fuel refueling to several hours for a standard charge. Second, the limited autonomy of electric vehicles can be in conflict with certain travels that are usually performed by car. Private cars that regularly travel over 100 km in a day are rare in most countries, but they do exist. Even more private cars occasionally travel over long distances for instance for holiday travels or leisure activities. Thus, we can wonder if electric vehicles are compatible with these mobility practices or if these mobility practices can be adapted or reorganized when an electric vehicle is purchased. If we now look at the changes brought by electric vehicles on the supply side of the mobility system, we note that there are numerous and very diverse changes. First, automotive industries for which electric vehicles mean applying changes to their vehicles. They must change engines, add a battery, remove the exhaust pipes, and design differently auxiliary equipment such as air-conditioning, heating, etc., which consume energy and reduce autonomy. Note that on this occasion the economic balance of this industry can be disrupted since a significant part of a thermal vehicle's value comes from its engine which is a core know-how of the manufacturer whereas batteries are very often bought from third-party suppliers. But apart from these technical changes on the vehicle and the changes they imply for the affected technological industries, there are also changes electric vehicles bring in the organization modes and professions of the automotive industry. Automotive manufacturers who chose to promote electric vehicles had to develop new business models, to rent the battery for instance, new skills, particularly in the distribution network, and new partnerships with actors from the energy sector, to install charging stations at the buyer's house for example. Professions linked to automotive maintenance can also undergo changes since electric vehicles also require the development of new skills in order to be authorized to work on batteries. Conversely, existing skills to work on thermal engines become dispensable. Outside the automotive industry, electric vehicles also bring changes for infrastructure providers who must develop a new private and public charging infrastructure associated with parking spaces in diverse situations such as private homes, collective housings, companies, public and private car parks, on-street parking, etc. Also, should energy providers develop offers for new demand segments with specific requirements in terms of charge programming, smart charging management for fleets of several vehicles, etc.? As for infrastructure managers, electric vehicles bring changes in terms of network reinforcement needs. When an electric car is charging normally, it consumes more or less as much as a small house. Devices to manage energy in a smart way or the design of energy systems integrated between buildings and vehicles are innovations for these actors. Public policies also undergo changes following the development of electric vehicles. There are two different types of changes. Pro-active changes come under a voluntary support of electric vehicle development by public policies, either for environmental, energy, or industrial reasons. And reactive changes are consequences of the electric vehicle development to re-establish a balance. Public policies take part as a support to electric vehicles through several forms that can target the supply via the support of a public charging infrastructure deployment for example, or target the demand by granting privileged access to congested city centers for example. Regulators play a major role during the initial phase of the electric mobility development because in a relatively immature ecosystem, the technological standard heterogeneity of outlets and charge can interfere with the distribution of electric vehicles. Public policies can also react to the electric vehicle development. Indeed, the widespread adoption of electric vehicles can disrupt an existing balance. The budgetary balance of public finances for instance because fuel taxes often create significant revenues for public authorities. Or the energy balance of electric networks. A massive distribution of electric vehicles can push public authorities to demand the deployment of devices to program or smartly manage charging in order to avoid an unsustainable increase in the peak demand in the early evening. To conclude, the distribution of electric mobility requires changes in the whole mobility system. Electric vehicles challenge part of what we know today in terms of mobility practices, mobility supply, and regulation. These changes that go along the distribution of electric vehicles lead to considering electric mobility as a systemic innovation.
