How Innovative Characteristics Influence Consumers’ Intention to Purchase Electric Vehicle: A Moderating Role of Lifestyle

Abstract

Electric vehicles have been identified as a viable option for optimization of the energy structure to foster energy conservation and a reduction in emissions, as well as to promote the development of a sustainable economy. Recently, China announced that the financial subsidies for electric vehicles will be gradually withdrawn, and many incentive policies will be revised, indicating that the electric vehicle market has transformed from a policy-driven to a market-driven structure. Therefore, we study the elements affecting consumers’ purchase intention in the early stage of electric vehicle availability to provide a theoretical reference that can be used in China to continue to stimulate market diffusion of electric vehicles based on the innovation diffusion theory and planned behavior theory. The current study explains the associations among the innovation characteristics, perceived risk, and purchase intention in relation to electric vehicles and details the moderating effect of lifestyle on fashion consciousness, environmental consciousness, and price consciousness. This paper investigates 529 potential consumers in Beijing, Shanghai, and other places, and AMOS and SPSS were used to perform quantitative analyses. The results show that innovation characteristics exert an obvious effect on purchase intention based on the mediating variable of perceived risk. Fashion consciousness significantly moderates the relationship between relative advantage and perceived risk, and environmental consciousness has a significant influence on the relationship between technology compatibility and perceived risk. Price consciousness plays the smallest role in this process. In practice, the findings suggest that practitioners can promote electric vehicle consumer purchase intention by using psychological activation techniques to improve the attitude and educational interest in relation to this product. It is also suggested that, as part of the strategy, government services should be improved.