Investigating the Influence of Consumer Behavior and Governmental Policy on the Diffusion of Electric Vehicles in Beijing, China

The adoption behavior of electric vehicles (EVs) has received considerable attention. However, the whole process of purchase behavior has not been well understood. In response, this paper investigates the uptake of EVs in Beijing, China, with a focus on the whole process of purchasing an EV, as well as the relevant policies. Specifically, the classical Howard-Sheth theory is used to the analyze the whole process of EV purchasing, which is divided into four stages here, namely, "Ignored and Neglected", "Proactive Attention", "Comparison and Selection of Vehicles" and "Usage Evaluation". Furthermore, several "what-if" scenarios are set up to quantify the influence of some typical EV-related polices, including the license plate lottery policy and no traffic constriction on battery electric vehicles (BEVs). The results suggest: (1) 63.4% of BEV owners have rigid travel demands with cars; (2) BEVs with a driving range of 500 km, 30-minutes charging time and price of RMB 15,000 are the first choices for the majority of people; (3) 64% of BEV owners are influenced by positive comments from the users around them in the adoption of EVs; (4) the no traffic constriction on BEVs tends to be more influential than the license plate lottery policy in terms of the numbers of applications for the vehicle purchase permits and BEV purchasers, as well as energy saving and vehicular emission reduction. These findings should be helpful for different EV-related stakeholders, such as the government, to shape their policies and promote the development of EVs.