Consumer preferences for battery electric vehicles: A choice experimental survey in China

Abstract

To accelerate the diffusion of battery electric vehicles (BEVs), consumer preferences for different products and policy attributes must be determined. Although previous studies have investigated consumer preferences for some product attributes, including purchase price, operation cost, driving range, and charging time, limited studies have discussed the broader aspects of product attributes, such as battery warranty and depreciation rate. Moreover, market-oriented incentives, including the personal carbon trading (PCT) scheme and the tradable driving credits (TDC) scheme, can theoretically be effective alternatives to expensive purchase subsidies. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence that confirms the influence of these two schemes on BEV adoption. To fill these gaps, we conducted a stated preference choice experimental survey in China and investigated the effect of product attributes, existing policy incentives, and two emerging market-oriented incentives on BEV adoption. Our results reveal that along with the main product attributes, battery warranty has a significant positive effect on inducing mainstream consumers to adopt BEVs while no preference difference occurs among existing policy incentives after purchase subsidies are abolished. For young consumers, almost all incentives that reduce the operation cost (e.g., PCT) or increase convenience (e.g., TDC) can increase their adoption of BEVs. These findings can provide important implications for the government with regard to designing novel incentives and promoting BEV adoption.