Understanding barriers and enablers of electric vehicles in urban freight transport: Addressing stakeholder needs in Turkey

•The potential of EFVs in Turkey is much higher than the current adoption rates.•Additional stakeholders brought by EFVs increase the complexity of urban logistics.•Conducting Total Cost of Ownership projections on EFVs are problematic.•Uncertainties in regulations delay the diffusion of EFVs.•The adoption rate of EFVs can be increased with better information diffusion. Electric Freight Vehicles (EFVs) have a strong potential for urban freight transport and city logistics. Depending on the way electricity is produced, the deployment of EFVs could significantly reduce exhaust emissions and noise pollution in cities. However, the market share of EFVs in commercial fleets is far below the potential. There is also a lack of knowledge on specific technical and organizational issues faced by EFV adopters, particularly who are at an early stage of adoption. The aim of this paper is to obtain an in-depth understanding of the factors that influence the adoption of EFVs in urban freight transport fleets in Turkey. The analysis is based on review of literature and the feedback gathered from a workshop with relevant stakeholders, as a part of the activities realized under EUFAL (Electric urban freight and logistics) project, realized under the ERA-NET Cofound Electric Mobility Europe. The evaluation of workshop results shows that besides some persistent technical and operational issues, EFV adoption is limited by a clear lack of easily available and reliable information on factors affecting the EFV adoption decision.