Impact of Behavioural and Social Factors on the Intention to Adopt Electric Vehicles: An Empirical Investigation

Abstract

India is the 3rd largest greenhouse gas emitter and is responsible for 6.9 per cent of global greenhouse emissions. The increase in greenhouse gases is leading to air pollution and climate change. As many as 14 of the world’s top 20 most-polluted cities are in India. Transport sector is one of the major sources of global greenhouse gases emissions, and emissions from conventional petrol/diesel vehicles are making a negative impact on the environment. Thus, it is highly recommended to replace these pollution-causing conventional vehicles with greener eco-friendly vehicles. Electric Vehicles (EVs) are considered to be one of the most promising environment-friendly innovations against pollution and energy demand from the transport sector. Despite strong promotion efforts by government and companies, EVs have a very less market share in India and were only 1.3% of vehicles sold in India during 2020-21. However, studies on EVs are conducted more in developed countries compared to developing countries and more studies are required to enhance EV adoption in developing countries such as India. Specifically, previous researchers have pointed out that there is a dearth of studies on consumer adoption of electric cars. In a practical context, the growth of EV industry in India is led by electric two-wheelers (E2W), and the sales of electric four-wheelers (E4W) have been relatively stagnant. Thus, this study specifically focuses on electric cars as a product category from the electric vehicle industry and aims to analyse various factors influencing consumers’ adoption of EVs in Indian context. The present study utilised an extended Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) model to assess the influence of various social and behavioural factors on EV adoption intention among Indian consumers. The study followed a quantitative research method that employed a self-administered survey questionnaire. The target population for the study was individuals with driving license and responses were collected from 738 participants through non-probability purposive sampling. The current research followed Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) using Analysis of Moments Structures (AMOS) to analyse the relationship between adoption intention and its predictors. Willingness to pay premium was found to be the strongest predictor of adoption intention. Among the elements of Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) model, attitude exhibited a significant influence on the adoption intention. Among the perceived risk dimensions, Psycho-social risk was found to have a significant negative effect whereas other dimensions did not influence the adoption intention of consumers. Financial incentives did not significantly influence the adoption intention of consumers towards EVs. Along with a direct effect on Attitude, Collectivism and Long-term orientation were also found to have an indirect effect on consumer adoption intention through attitude. The insights from this study would help policymakers, government agencies, and marketers formulate better policies and marketing strategies to increase consumer adoption of electric vehicles in India.