Publications
7891011121311 of 13
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf
Vertical integration, interoperability, and subsidies in electric vehicle charging markets
Department of Computer, Control and Management Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-3262-7620
Department of Computer, Control and Management Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-2263-0893
Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Society, environment and transport, Transport economics. Economics, Department of Management and Engineering, Linköping University, Sweden.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-9235-0232
2026 (English)In: Economics of Transportation, ISSN 2212-0122, E-ISSN 2212-0130, Vol. 46-47, article id 100459Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

This paper studies how vertical integration, subsidies, and interoperability regulation shape investment and welfare in electric vehicle (EV) public charging markets. We model the interaction between Charging Point Operators (CPOs), which invest in charging infrastructure, and Mobility Service Providers (MSPs), which sell charging services to end users. The model features indirect network externalities: denser infrastructure reduces range anxiety and increases EV adoption, while higher EV demand raises infrastructure profitability. In the benchmark laissez-faire environment, vertical integration creates a trade-off. Integrated CPOs-MSPs may foreclose rival MSPs and reduce downstream competition, but they also internalize the complementarity between infrastructure investment and EV demand, generating higher infrastructure density, EV adoption, consumer surplus, and welfare than vertical separation. This welfare ranking is established under foreclosure and is then generalized in a robustness extension with interoperability constraints. Minimum-margin rules keep the rival MSP active and soften foreclosure, while the integrated firm still retains part of its investment advantage. However, when interoperability entails compliance and coordination costs, stricter access regulation may further weaken infrastructure investment incentives. We also compare consumer subsidies and firm subsidies within the benchmark environment. Consumer subsidy dominates under vertical integration, while firm subsidy may dominate under separation only when network effects are sufficiently strong. A calibration to Italian metropolitan areas supports these mechanisms and highlights a fiscal trade-off: consumer subsidy generates larger welfare gains, whereas firm subsidy may deliver higher environmental benefits per euro spent.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2026. Vol. 46-47, article id 100459
Keywords [en]
Electric vehicles, Charging infrastructure, Interoperability, Vertical integration, Market foreclosure, Indirect network effects, Subsidies
National Category
Economics Transport Systems and Logistics
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:vti:diva-22821DOI: 10.1016/j.ecotra.2026.100459Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105041660374OAI: oai:DiVA.org:vti-22821DiVA, id: diva2:2089149
Note

Research funding provided by Sapienza University of Rome (Grants No. 843_009_20_AAT and Researchers Mobility Funding Program 2022).

Available from: 2026-07-31 Created: 2026-07-31 Last updated: 2026-07-31Bibliographically approved

Open Access in DiVA

fulltext(3680 kB)8 downloads
File information
File name FULLTEXT01.pdfFile size 3680 kBChecksum SHA-512
1bd979258f01bdf33556838ba7d33c2845742c213b9dceb482d91acb2c0bbaa463195032935d7f02b65ae5f1e776912840861c1135e8d844474ce1089eaa9083
Type fulltextMimetype application/pdf

Other links

Publisher's full textScopus

Authority records

Börjesson, Maria

Search in DiVA

By author/editor
D'Alfonso, TizianaGiagnorio, MirkoBörjesson, Maria
By organisation
Transport economics
In the same journal
Economics of Transportation
EconomicsTransport Systems and Logistics

Search outside of DiVA

GoogleGoogle Scholar
The number of downloads is the sum of all downloads of full texts. It may include eg previous versions that are now no longer available

doi
urn-nbn

Altmetric score

doi
urn-nbn
Total: 115 hits
7891011121311 of 13
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf