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Efforts at urban e-mobility transition in China are of crucial global significance. Exploring these developments, however, demands significant reframing of dominant theories of socio-technical system transition to accommodate the strikingly different socio-political context of China to that of the global North where these theories have been developed. In particular, greater attention must be paid to issues of power, conceptualized as dynamic power/knowledge relations constitutive of social formations and evolving in interactive parallel with specific innovation trajectories. We illustrate such a productive reframing focusing on complex processes of empowerment and highlight that there remains relative stasis in the grand plan of a rapid transition to electric cars (EVs) in China's growing cities, with the EV still widely regarded as “risky” mobility. At the same time the EV in China is becoming a constituent of a new kind of digitized and smart mobility, as Chinese ICT companies emerge as globally powerful players establishing alliances with traditional automobile companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A mobility low-carbon transition is a key issue both socially and for mobilities research. The multi-level perspective (MLP) is justifiably a leading approach in such research, with important connections to high-profile socio-technical systemic analyses within the mobilities paradigm. The paper explores the key contributions that a Foucauldian-inspired cultural political economy offers, going beyond central problems with the MLP, specifically regarding: a productive concept of power that affords analysis of the qualitatively novel and dynamic process of transition; and the incorporation of the exogenous ‘landscape’ into the analysis. This move thus resonates with growing calls for attention to power dynamics in mobilities research and a ‘structural’ turn. In making this case, we deploy the key case study of contemporary efforts towards mobility transition in China. This not only sets out more starkly the importance of MLP’s gaps but also provides an empirical case to illustrate, albeit in the form of informed speculation, possible routes to low-carbon urban mobility transitionandthe inseparability from broader qualitative power transitions at multiple scales, including the global. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We examine the stated preference for EVs across generations and cities in China. • Young consumers are not more inclined to adopt EVs than the older generation. • Consumers in small cities prefer EVs more than those in midsized or big cities. • Consumers' evaluation on four aspects of EVs explains the preference (in)difference. China is currently the world's biggest electric vehicle (EV) market, in which mostly mature consumers in first-tier cities are buying EVs. However, the changing market and policy environment are challenging the sustainability of this trend. This study conducts a nationwide stated preference (SP) experiment in China to examine preference heterogeneity towards EVs across (1) different generations and (2) different tiers of cities. Discrete choice analysis reveals that the tier of cities has a significant effect on adoption preferences for EVs. Surprisingly, consumers in smaller cities exhibit stronger preference for EVs, while an insignificant difference in preference is found between consumers of different generations. The interaction effect between the tier of cities and the generations further demonstrates that younger consumers in small cities most prefer EVs. This can be explained by their evaluations of the psychosocial advantages of EVs and their aspiration for a future of EV-based mobility. This research contributes to the broad literature of technology adoption, but more specifically, the research offers new insights on consumers' EV preference heterogeneity with respect to geographic and demographic dimensions. The study has important business and policy implications relating to the EV transition in China in consideration of the two tested dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The typical buying/ownership model is compared to three new EV business models. • Consumer preferences for EV innovative business models is empirically analysed. • Key factors that affect adoption of EV innovative business models are identified. • Preference heterogeneity implies segmented value propositions for EV business models. • Policy makers can encourage the development and acceptance of innovative business models. Although business models are critical to the successful market penetration and diffusion of sustainable innovations, little is known about consumer preferences for adopting electric vehicles (EVs) under innovative business models. Drawing on existing conceptualisations of business models, we study consumers' preferences for three innovative EV business models: (i) battery-leasing, (ii) EV-leasing, and (iii) Business-to-Customer (B2C) EV-sharing, in addition to the conventional EV-buying model. By conducting a nationwide stated preference (SP) experiment in China, we show that consumers perceive battery-leasing and EV-buying models to be close substitutes, while EV-leasing and EV-sharing models are perceived as independent. Important monetary attributes are the operational cost saving in the battery-leasing model and the leasing cost in the EV-leasing model. Critical service and policy attributes include home charging capability, vehicle licensing policy, and the density of battery-swapping stations for the battery-leasing model. We also find that female consumers, those who are well-educated, and those who have a pro-EV attitude are most likely to adopt EVs in innovative business models. Our work has significant value for companies and government in terms of better designing and supporting the innovative business models for EV adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We explore the dynamic consumer preferences for EVs in China. • Three-wave stated preference experiments elicit dynamic preferences for EVs. • Dynamic preference for EVs by generation and geography are captured. • We highlight the dynamic and non-linearity patterns of EV transition. Sustainable innovations such as electric vehicles (EVs) are important means to address global environmental and energy sustainability challenges – one of the key agendas of current strategic government policy. Although EVs have gradually penetrated the market, existing research on consumer preferences for EVs is mostly based on cross-sectional analysis, without sufficient attention devoted to consumer preference changes over time. To fill this gap, this study proposes a longitudinal approach to extend the EV adoption research. Specifically, this study illustrates the value of studying consumer preferences for EVs from a dynamic perspective and focuses on changes in preference heterogeneity across different marketA segments over time. This study conducts three waves of stated preference experiments from 2017 to 2019 from a same group of respondents. The mixed logit analysis shows that, over these three years, Chinese consumers have become less sensitive to running cost but have been consistently valuing home charging capability and prioritized licensing for EVs. Furthermore, the perceived importance of the density of fast charging stations and overall preferences for EVs fluctuated over this period. Further analysis on preference heterogeneity finds that consumers in small cities were developing stronger preferences for battery EVs in 2018 and 2019 than in the base year of 2017, while those living in midsized and big cities did not present the preference change for battery EVs over the same period. Our study provides important managerial and policy implications for the diffusion of EVs, in particular with respect to specific insights obtained by taking a dynamic perspective to study consumer preferences for EVs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]