Early opportunity signals of a tipping point in the UK's second-hand electric vehicle market

12 March 2025

Early warning signals used to detect tipping points are tested on a dataset of daily views of online electric vehicle (EV) adverts. The attention given to EV adverts spikes upwards after specific events before returning to normality more slowly over time. Alongside increases in autocorrelation and variance, these results are consistent with the movement towards a tipping point to an EV-dominated market, highlighting the ability of these signals to work in previously untested social systems.

Please also read the press release by University of Exeter.

Contact: Chris A. Boulton (c.a.boulton@exeter.ac.uk)