Background: Over the past decade, the market for Electric Vehicles (EV) has grown from almost inexistent in 2010 to over three million vehicles sold in 2020. This market, which was for a long time considered as niche, is now quickly becoming mainstream. Within this context, many scholars have attempted to identify and categorize the key factors impacting EV adoption.

Objectives: This study provides an overview of the past and current research on EV adoption. It aims at producing a summary of the main key factors identified by researchers over the past decade. Furthermore, it includes a cross paper analysis to identify the strengths and limitations of the academic work performed in this field. This analysis intends to provide a review of the existing research as well as suggest new areas to explore.

Methodology: This paper uses a qualitative meta-analysis approach and provides a systematic approach to the evaluation and synthesis of research studies examining EV adoption factors. Twenty-one studies related to the EV adoption topic were selected based on criteria specific to this study. Criteria included but were not limited to research methods, publication year, geographical scope or considered adoption factors. Google Scholar citation count was used to identify influential research. Each study was analyzed individually and then in the context of the other selected studies.

Results: Based on the reviewed studies, key factors influencing EV adoption were identified and classified into three categories: socio-demographic factors, situational factors and psychological factors.

Conclusions: Existing research demonstrates that scholars were able to successfully identify the key factors influencing EV adoption. Recent studies mostly confirmed the findings of past research and added more complex psychological factors to the list of already identified factors. However, collecting data on EV adoption is difficult and many parameters might affect the results. Evolution over time, geographical specificities, incentives and vehicle segmentation might have an impact on some of the already identified factors.

Recommendations for future research: This study suggests that further research including exploring different geographical areas or spreading over time might yield different results. Or, on the contrary, focusing on a specific time period or geographical area might identify local trends or influencing events. Similarly, taking into consideration specific incentives or intrinsic differences between EV makes and models would help refine findings and improve the overall understanding of consumer’s behavior regarding EV adoption.