Understanding consumer willingness and objection toward electric vehicles: a cognitive appraisal perspective

This study investigates the primary and secondary appraisal factors influencing consumers’ willingness to accept and objection to use electric vehicles (EVs) within the Malaysian context. Using Cognitive Appraisal Theory (CAT), the study conceptualizes EVs adoption as a multi-stage decision-making process involving cognitive evaluation, emotional response, and behavioural outcomes. Structural equation modelling was employed to test the proposed framework using survey data collected from 425 Malaysian respondents. The results indicate that in the primary appraisal stage, social influence, hedonic motivation, and trust significantly enhance performance expectancy, while social influence and trust positively affect effort expectancy. In the secondary appraisal stage, performance expectancy significantly shapes emotional responses, whereas effort expectancy does not. In the outcome stage, emotions strongly drive willingness to accept EVs, while technological anxiety increases objection to adoption; environmental attitude shows no significant effect on willingness. The findings provide a key theoretical insight by demonstrating that acceptance and objection are governed by asymmetric appraisal mechanisms under CAT, where positive emotions facilitate willingness, whereas anxiety independently triggers resistance. From a practical perspective, the results highlight the importance of emotion – and trust-based interventions over purely environmental messaging in accelerating EV adoption in emerging markets such as Malaysia. This study extends CAT to the EVs context by explaining both acceptance and resistance within a unified appraisal framework and offers actionable insights for policymakers and industry stakeholders in developing economies.HighlightsThis study investigates the primary and secondary appraisal factors influencing consumers’ willingness to accept and objections to using electric vehicles (EVs).In the primary appraisal stage, social influence, hedonic motivation, and trust were found to significantly enhance performance expectancy, while social influence and trust positively affect effort expectancy.In the secondary appraisal stage, performance expectancy significantly shapes emotional responses, whereas effort expectancy does not.In the outcome stage, emotions strongly drive willingness to accept EVs, while technological anxiety increases objection to adoption; environmental attitude shows no significant effect on willingness to accept EVs.