Study on consumers’ electric vehicle choice preferences in severe cold regions: Based on choice experiments in Heilongjiang province

In the development of the electric vehicle(EV) industry, grasping consumers’ choice preferences is an important part of current research. However, no research reports have been found on consumers’ vehicle purchase preferences in severe cold regions. For this reason, we conducted a choice experiment(CE) in Heilongjiang province, which is located in northeastern China, with the aim of investigating consumers’ choice preferences for EV in severe cold regions. In this paper, we applied multinomial logit models(MNL), random parameters logit models(RPL), and latent classes models(LCM) to explore the differences in attribute preferences and willingness to pay(WTP) for consumers’ choice of EV in cold environments. The results of this study show that the respondents are more concerned about the purchase price, driving range, charging station density, and charging time of EV. Based on the results of the LCM model, respondents were divided into two categories: price-sensitive type and charging time-sensitive type. We found that low-income women who own a garage are more likely to fall into the first category, focusing more on the purchase price, fuel cost, and carbon emission attributes of the EV. Higher-income men without a garage are more likely to fall into the second category, focusing more on purchase price, charging time,driving range, and the car’s power performance attributes during the selection process. These findings can provide policy recommendations for the government to promote the development of the electric vehicle industry, as well as guidance on technology development for automakers to open up the severe cold market.