How experience of use influences mass-market drivers’ willingness to consider a battery electric vehicle: A randomised controlled trial |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering, University of Florida, 365 Weil Hall, Gainesville, FL 32611-6580, United States;2. School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8LT, United Kingdom;3. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Michigan, 2350 Hayward, 2120 GG Brown, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2125, United States;1. Sustainability Measurement and Modeling Lab (SUMMLab), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), EET-Campus Terrassa, 08222 Barcelona, Spain;2. Observatori de la Sostenibilitat d’Andorra (OBSA), Plaça de la Germandat 7, AD600 Sant Julià de Lòria, Andorra;1. Department of Civil Engineering, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8603, Japan;2. Institute of Materials and Systems for Sustainability, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8603, Japan;3. Institute of Innovation for Future Society, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8603, Japan;1. University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia;2. Planning and Transport Research Centre – PATREC, Western Australia, Australia;3. The Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies, Business School, University of Sydney, Australia |
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| Abstract: | Uptake of electric vehicles (EVs) by consumers could reduce CO2 emissions from light duty road transport, but little is known about how mass-market consumer drivers will respond to them. Self-Congruity theory proposes that products are preferred whose symbolic meanings are congruent with personal identity. Further, Construal Level theory suggests that only those who are psychologically close to a new product category through direct experience with it can make concrete construals related to their lifestyles; most drivers lack this for EVs. For instance, potential performance benefits of EVs might offset range limitations for consumers who have such direct experience. The effect of direct experience was tested in a randomised controlled trial with 393 mass-market consumer drivers. An experimental group were given direct experience of a modern battery electric vehicle (BEV), and a control group an equivalent conventional car. Despite rating the performance of the BEV more highly than that of the conventional car, willingness to consider a BEV declined after experience, particularly if the range of the BEV considered was short. The participants willing to consider a short-range BEV were those high in self-congruity, for whom the BEV could act as a strong symbol of personal identity. |
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| Keywords: | Electric vehicle Consumer Adoption Randomised controlled trial Symbolic Performance |
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