Analyzing the effectiveness of policy instruments on new energy vehicle industry using consistent fuzzy preference relations: A case study in China

New energy vehicles (NEVs) have important implications for traffic pollution management and energy consumption. A series of industrial incentive policies have been introduced to promote the development of the NEV industry. However, the actual effects of the policies do not come up to expectations. Aiming to analyze the relationship between the policy instruments and the market acceptance of NEVs, a consistent fuzzy preference relations model is proposed to evaluate the efficiency of policies on the NEV industry. The model introduces an assessment criteria system with three criterions (industry development, technology research and development (R&D), and NEV popularization). The quantitative weights of evaluation criteria are calculated by the fuzzy preference relation. The weights indicate the significance of the factors in the development of NEVs, especially when NEVs have not been widely accepted. With the proposed model, a case study in China shows that the policy of technology R&D is the most crucial for the NEV industry in China. The policy of NEV industry development, on the other hand, is equally important. The results are hoped to give a better understanding of the relationship between government policy instruments and NEV development, the measures for enhancing the policy efficiency of NEV development.