Public intentions to purchase electric vehicles in Pakistan

Electric vehicles (EVs) have the potential to lead the transition in road transportation from traditional petroleum mobility to electric mobility. Despite many environmental benefits, the market penetration rate of EVs is still low in most developing countries. Recently, Pakistan formulated its first EV policy for 2020–2025 to accelerate EV adoption. This study aims to explore the factors, including environmental concerns, perceived ease of use, effort expectancy, social influence, and perceived facilitating conditions, affecting individuals’ behavioral intentions to purchase EVs in Pakistan. The hypotheses were developed based on the literature, and an online questionnaire survey was conducted in Lahore, Pakistan, to collect the relevant data. The partial least square path modeling approach of structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesis. The results confirmed that the environmental concerns, perceived ease of use, and effort expectancy positively affect the public’s intentions to use EVs in the future. However, social influence and facilitating conditions did not significantly contribute to EV adoption in the present study. The findings suggest that the EV manufacturers aiming to accelerate EV adoption should develop marketing strategies to disseminate information regarding the environmental benefits of EVs and enhance clarity about EVs’ performance and usage.