Open Access

George Panagakos, Mirko Goletz, Alvin Mejia, Elina Aittoniemi, Michael Bruhn Barfod, Subash Dhar, Maria Rosa Munoz Barriga, Talat Munshi, Jyoti Prasad Painuly, Shritu Shrestha, Anne Silla, Edmund Teko, Guilhermina Torrao, Stefan Werland, Kathleen Dematera

• Aiming at setting up a global platform for e-mobility solutions, the EU-funded project SOLUTIONSplus (2020-2023) established nine living labs in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America to test innovative solutions involving new services, business models, vehicle types, and charging systems. A user needs analysis was undertaken in all project cities. The paper summarizes the main findings of this analysis and investigates the effect of the external environment on user needs. The perceived importance of electric vehicles in mobility patterns, quality of life, and city environment is examined, along with expected challenges in the respective market penetration. It is found that these perceptions are correlated with external factors such as airAiming at setting up a global platform for e-mobility solutions, the EU-funded project SOLUTIONSplus (2020-2023) established nine living labs in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America to test innovative solutions involving new services, business models, vehicle types, and charging systems. A user needs analysis was undertaken in all project cities. The paper summarizes the main findings of this analysis and investigates the effect of the external environment on user needs. The perceived importance of electric vehicles in mobility patterns, quality of life, and city environment is examined, along with expected challenges in the respective market penetration. It is found that these perceptions are correlated with external factors such as air pollution or traffic congestion, leading to possible adjustments of the e-mobility promoting efforts according to the local stakeholder priorities.…