Consumer adoption of fuel-efficient vehicles is a crucial step in improving energy use and reducing emissions from the transportation sector. The range of options includes hybridization of powertrains all the way through to fully electric vehicles. To promote adoption, policymakers have employed supply side policies such as the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions/Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards and the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate, which require automakers to produce and sell fuel-efficient and alternative fuel vehicles. In addition, demand side measures in the form of financial and non financial incentives promoting ZEV adoption have also been employed. We measure the changes in consumers’ purchase motivations and potential demand in the wake of such programs by analyzing the past 11 years of new vehicle buyer survey data in the United States as a case study.

Fellow Rubal is a research fellow at KAPSARC focused on understanding consumer decision making, in particular, consumer choice of energy-efficient technologies… Rubal is a research fellow at KAPSARC focused on understanding consumer decision making, in particular, consumer choice of energy-efficient technologies and mobility options under alternative technology and policy scenarios. Before joining KAPSARC, Rubal gained a Ph.D. at KAUST designing advanced carbon materials for energy and environmental applications, with a particular focus on energy storage, carbon capture, waste-water treatment, and hydrogen generation via solar water splitting. Prior to that, he worked at the University of Pennsylvania on a semiconductor industry-funded project, developing a continuum modeling framework for simulating the physics of micro defect formation in silicon crystals.
Expertise
- Behavorial decision science
- Consumer adoption
- Energy-efficient mobility and shared autonomous mobility-on-demand
Publications See all Rubal Dua’s publications

Worldwide intraregional and interregional air passenger traffic volume distribution
Consumer adoption of fuel-efficient vehicles is a crucial step in improving energy use and reducing…
23rd November 2023
Worldwide Intraregional and Interregional Air Freight Traffic Volume Distribution
Consumer adoption of fuel-efficient vehicles is a crucial step in improving energy use and reducing…
26th October 2023