Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

As new vehicle technologies and mobility services reshape the transportation sector, understanding consumer acceptance is essential for evaluating their implications for energy use and associated outcomes. This chapter examines the behavioral dimensions of technology acceptance, focusing on plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) and the challenges they introduce for consumers in navigating purchase and refueling decisions. It begins by situating PEVs within the broader U.S. LDV technology and infrastructure landscape, which is dominated by internal combustion engine-only vehicles but includes a growing share of alternative fuel options. It then highlights key elements of the vehicle purchase process that shape the LDV technologies seen on U.S. roads today. This section reviews a well-established model of the consumer purchase decision-making process centered around five stages –problem recognition, search, alternative evaluation, purchase, and post-purchase behavior – and describes key influences on this process, including consumer characteristics and external factors. Building on this foundation, the chapter then introduces the 4-A Framework of Technology Acceptance, which is the cumulative result of many individual consumers progressing through four key stages: being Aware of a new technology; having Access to the technology; Approving of the technology as suitable to their needs and wants; and adopting the technology through purchase and use. The 4-A framework is then used to structure a brief review of recent U.S. research on PEV acceptance, with attention to enablers and obstacles at each stage. While PEVs are the primary focus of this chapter, the frameworks developed here apply broadly to other emerging technologies.