Other subjects to be investigated include: how much people will be willing to pay for such a vehicle, how it will fit into their current travel patterns and whether they have any anxieties about the new technology.
Identifying the types of people who are most likely to become early adopters of electric vehicles — such as the plug-in car — will also be a key focus of the research.
Dr Jillian Anable, who is leading the Aberdeen study, said: ‘Identifying the key factors that will influence consumers to purchase electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles will be crucial to successfully rolling out the concept to the wider market.
‘We hope our research — which will take place throughout the UK — will identify the type of person that may become an early or future adopter of the technology.’
Aberdeen University is one of six partners undertaking research as part of ETI’s £11m low-carbon vehicle plan to support the roll-out of plug-in electric vehicles to the UK market.
The project is led by Ricardo and also involves the Transport Research Laboratory, Shell, Element Energy and Sussex University.
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17 months or two and a half years - which is it?