From Intention to Actual Behavior to Adopt Battery Electric Vehicles: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Background: Climate change and global warming are severely impacting countries worldwide. Governments are being urged to promote Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) as an alternative to conventional vehicles, which are one of the main sources of emissions and pollution. Despite their environmental benefits, BEV adoption remains at a low level. Therefore, identifying the determinants of BEV adoption is necessary to promote greener transportation. Objective: This study aims at identifying and synthesizing factors affecting BEV adoption intention and actual behavior. A comparison and analysis will be made to draw meaningful results and suggest future research areas. Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted. Data were collected from research articles in peer-reviewed journals of well-known publishers. After a strict qualification process, 45 studies were selected and their findings are critically discussed. Results: Most studies are quantitative in nature and conducted in BEV developed markets. Various determinants of BEV adoption intention were identified and classified into 5 categories: psychological, behavioral, product attributes, contextual, and demographic. Meanwhile, only a few studies examine BEV's actual adoption behavior. Antecedents of adoption behavior were categorized into 4 groups, namely, psychological, behavioral, contextual, and demographic. Conclusion: BEV adoption can be influenced by both internal and external factors. There is a gap in research between intention and behavior in previous studies related to BEV adoption. While determinants of intention are the topic of many studies, actual behavior is more important but limitedly explored. Future research can focus on adoption behavior in newly developed markets with real data rather than utilizing self-reported responses to better analyze actual behavior.