IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/manlab/v50y2025i2p166-183.html

What Drives and Inhibits Consumers from Adopting Electric Two Wheelers: A Behavioural Reasoning Theory Perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Kartikeya Ashok
  • Abhishek Tripathi
  • Sourabh Arora

Abstract

This study contributes to the body of work on electric vehicle adoption by going beyond traditional frameworks like the Technology Acceptance Model, the Theory of Reasoned Action and the Theory of Planned Behaviour. It presents a comprehensive framework that highlights both the drivers and barriers specific to Tier 2 cities, a significant market for two wheelers in India. Although two wheelers are the preferred mode of transport in India, there has been limited research on the adoption of electric two-wheelers (E2Ws) and their role in achieving decarbonization goals. This study aims to assess the adoption of E2Ws in Tier 2 cities across India, which represents a significant market for two wheelers. To explore this, the study employs a qualitative approach using a theoretical framework to understand the reasons behind the adoption and non-adoption of E2Ws in Tier 2 cities. Eighty-nine interviews were conducted in different Tier 2 cities across four northern states. The results identified several key reasons for adoption, including monetary savings, non-financial incentives, driving pleasure, ease of use for women and senior citizens, suitability for local travel, and a pro-environmental approach. Conversely, the barriers to adoption included high ownership costs, negative motives, inadequate vehicle space, poor repair and service infrastructure, distrust, resale concerns, and negative review consensus. From a managerial perspective, this study provides strategic insights for marketers, outlining ways to promote the mass adoption of E2Ws by understanding and addressing key motivators and inhibitors.

Suggested Citation

  • Kartikeya Ashok & Abhishek Tripathi & Sourabh Arora, 2025. "What Drives and Inhibits Consumers from Adopting Electric Two Wheelers: A Behavioural Reasoning Theory Perspective," Management and Labour Studies, XLRI Jamshedpur, School of Business Management & Human Resources, vol. 50(2), pages 166-183, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:manlab:v:50:y:2025:i:2:p:166-183
    DOI: 10.1177/0258042X241292320
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0258042X241292320
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0258042X241292320?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. ., 2020. "Economic development in Europe and the United States," Chapters, in: The Rule of Law, Economic Development, and Corporate Governance, chapter 6, pages 149-177, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. Xingping Zhang & Jian Xie & Rao Rao & Yanni Liang, 2014. "Policy Incentives for the Adoption of Electric Vehicles across Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(11), pages 1-23, November.
    3. Pius Victor Chombo & Yossapong Laoonual & Somchai Wongwises, 2021. "Lessons from the Electric Vehicle Crashworthiness Leading to Battery Fire," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-21, August.
    4. Trong Truong Hoang & Thu Huong Pham & Thi Minh Hien Vu, 2022. "Examining customer purchase decision towards battery electric vehicles in Vietnam market: A combination of self-interested and pro-environmental approach," Cogent Business & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(1), pages 2141671-214, December.
    5. Sahu, Aditya Kumar & Padhy, R.K. & Dhir, Amandeep, 2020. "Envisioning the future of behavioral decision-making: A systematic literature review of behavioral reasoning theory," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 145-159.
    6. Jan, Ihsan Ullah & Ji, Seonggoo & Kim, Changju, 2023. "What (de) motivates customers to use AI-powered conversational agents for shopping? The extended behavioral reasoning perspective," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    7. Marit Engen & Martin Fransson & Johan Quist & Per Skålén, 2021. "Continuing the development of the public service logic: a study of value co-destruction in public services," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(6), pages 886-905, June.
    8. Sierzchula, William & Bakker, Sjoerd & Maat, Kees & van Wee, Bert, 2014. "The influence of financial incentives and other socio-economic factors on electric vehicle adoption," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 183-194.
    9. Cherry, Christopher R., 2007. "Electric Two-Wheelers in China: Analysis ofEnvironmental, Safety, and Mobility Impacts," Institute of Transportation Studies, Research Reports, Working Papers, Proceedings qt6wh1v7cj, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Berkeley.
    10. Abotalebi, Elnaz & Scott, Darren M. & Ferguson, Mark R., 2019. "Why is electric vehicle uptake low in Atlantic Canada? A comparison to leading adoption provinces," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 289-298.
    11. Langbroek, Joram H.M. & Franklin, Joel P. & Susilo, Yusak O., 2016. "The effect of policy incentives on electric vehicle adoption," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 94-103.
    12. Almansour, Mohammed, 2022. "Electric vehicles (EV) and sustainability: Consumer response to twin transition, the role of e-businesses and digital marketing," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    13. Sudarsan Jayasingh & T. Girija & Sivakumar Arunkumar, 2021. "Factors Influencing Consumers’ Purchase Intention towards Electric Two-Wheelers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-20, November.
    14. Lévay, Petra Zsuzsa & Drossinos, Yannis & Thiel, Christian, 2017. "The effect of fiscal incentives on market penetration of electric vehicles: A pairwise comparison of total cost of ownership," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 524-533.
    15. Gordon, Ross & Gurrieri, Lauren & Chapman, Michael, 2015. "Broadening an understanding of problem gambling: The lifestyle consumption community of sports betting," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(10), pages 2164-2172.
    16. Sahoo, Debajani & Harichandan, Sidhartha & Kar, Sanjay Kumar & S, Sreejesh, 2022. "An empirical study on consumer motives and attitude towards adoption of electric vehicles in India: Policy implications for stakeholders," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    17. Giansoldati, Marco & Monte, Adriana & Scorrano, Mariangela, 2020. "Barriers to the adoption of electric cars: Evidence from an Italian survey," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    18. She, Zhen-Yu & Qing Sun, & Ma, Jia-Jun & Xie, Bai-Chen, 2017. "What are the barriers to widespread adoption of battery electric vehicles? A survey of public perception in Tianjin, China," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 29-40.
    19. Egnér, Filippa & Trosvik, Lina, 2018. "Electric vehicle adoption in Sweden and the impact of local policy instruments," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 584-596.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Vinay Chauhan & Shiv Kumar, 2026. "Examining the Various Drivers Using the ADO Model for Electric Vehicle Adoption in India," Metamorphosis: A Journal of Management Research, , vol. 25(1), pages 87-107, April.
    2. Alali, Layla & Niesten, Eva & Gagliardi, Dimitri, 2022. "The impact of UK financial incentives on the adoption of electric fleets: The moderation effect of GDP change," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 200-220.
    3. Fan, Xia & Li, Chuanju, 2025. "“To be unfolding” or “be on its last legs”—Preferential tax policies between supply and demand and the development of the new energy vehicle industry based on an ABM model," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    4. Mekky, Maher F. & Collins, Alan R., 2024. "The Impact of state policies on electric vehicle adoption -A panel data analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    5. Yang, J. & Chen, F., 2021. "How are social-psychological factors related to consumer preferences for plug-in electric vehicles? Case studies from two cities in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    6. Chandra, Minal, 2022. "Investigating the impact of policies, socio-demography and national commitments on electric-vehicle demand: Cross-country study," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    7. Chenlei Xue & Huaguo Zhou & Qunqi Wu & Xueying Wu & Xingbo Xu, 2021. "Impact of Incentive Policies and Other Socio-Economic Factors on Electric Vehicle Market Share: A Panel Data Analysis from the 20 Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-12, March.
    8. Qiu, Y.Q. & Zhou, P. & Sun, H.C., 2019. "Assessing the effectiveness of city-level electric vehicle policies in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 22-31.
    9. Elena Higueras-Castillo & Sebastian Molinillo & J. Andres Coca-Stefaniak & Francisco Liébana-Cabanillas, 2020. "Potential Early Adopters of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles in Spain—Towards a Customer Profile," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-18, May.
    10. Iogansen, Xiatian & Wang, Kailai & Bunch, David & Matson, Grant & Circella, Giovanni, 2023. "Deciphering the factors associated with adoption of alternative fuel vehicles in California: An investigation of latent attitudes, socio-demographics, and neighborhood effects," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    11. Saiful Hasan & Terje Andreas Mathisen, 2020. "Policy measures for electric vehicle adoption. A review of evidence from Norway and China," ECONOMICS AND POLICY OF ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 0(1), pages 25-46.
    12. Dai, Ziyi & Liu, Haobing & Rodgers, Michael O. & Guensler, Randall, 2022. "Electric vehicle market potential and associated energy and emissions reduction benefits," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 322(C).
    13. Schwab, Julia & Sölch, Christian & Zöttl, Gregor, 2022. "Electric Vehicle Cost in 2035: The impact of market penetration and charging strategies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    14. Harshad Sonar & H M Belal & Cyril Foropon & Ramkrishna Manatkar & Vandana Sonwaney, 2025. "Examining the causal factors of the electric vehicle adoption: a pathway to tackle climate change in resource-constrained environment," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 355(1), pages 59-85, December.
    15. Xiaolei Zhao & Xuemei Li & Yazhou Wu & Lixing Qiao & Ce Zhang, 2025. "Assessment of the effects of China's new energy vehicle industry policies: from the perspective of moderating effect of consumer characteristics," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 27(2), pages 4319-4340, February.
    16. Goel, Pooja & Kumar, Aalok & Parayitam, Satyanarayana & Luthra, Sunil, 2023. "Understanding transport users' preferences for adopting electric vehicle based mobility for sustainable city: A moderated moderated-mediation model," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    17. Zhang, Junjie & Jia, Rongwen & Yang, Hangjun & Dong, Kangyin, 2022. "Does electric vehicle promotion in the public sector contribute to urban transport carbon emissions reduction?," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 151-163.
    18. Philip, Thara & Whitehead, Jake & Prato, Carlo G., 2023. "Adoption of electric vehicles in a laggard, car-dependent nation: Investigating the potential influence of V2G and broader energy benefits on adoption," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    19. Madhusudhan Adhikari & Laxman Prasad Ghimire & Yeonbae Kim & Prakash Aryal & Sundar Bahadur Khadka, 2020. "Identification and Analysis of Barriers against Electric Vehicle Use," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-20, June.
    20. Hsu, Chih-Wei & Fingerman, Kevin, 2021. "Public electric vehicle charger access disparities across race and income in California," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 59-67.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:manlab:v:50:y:2025:i:2:p:166-183. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.xlri.ac.in/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.