Adoption of electric vehicles: An empirical study of consumers’ intentions

Electric vehicles (EVs) are widely recognized within the transportation industry as highly promising green technology that mitigates carbon dioxide emissions and high energy usage. The public, however, has demonstrated great hesitancy in embracing EVs, and it’s important to learn why this is so. This study employed an integrative approach to personality traits, beliefs, and intentions to understand consumers’ willingness or unwillingness to adopt EVs. The first step in this endeavor was to develop and distribute a survey to gain insight into what potential consumers see as EVs’ major advantages and disadvantages. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed on the 743 responses that were collected from the survey, and the results show that personal innovativeness, usefulness, and ease of use positively impact individual’s intentions to acquire an EV; risk was shown to be the most negative influence. A mediation analysis indicated that a person’s level of innovativeness influences their decision about whether or not to adopt an EV. These findings will add to the body of research on sustainable mobility and will equip policymakers and marketers with a deeper understanding of the public’s perceptions of EVs that will enable them to design effective marketing tools that will result in increased sales. •This study utilized personality-beliefs-intention to understand consumers’ willingness to adopt EVs.•Personal innovativeness, usefulness, and ease of use positively influence consumers' intentions to purchase EVs.•Perceived risk is the strongest negative factor impacting consumers' intention to adopt EVs.