Refuelling Behaviour and Electric Vehicle Uptake: Evidence From a Behavioural Transition Framework in Western Australia

This study examined how refuelling routines, price responsiveness and discount expectations relate to readiness to replace a conventional petrol vehicle with an electric vehicle in Western Australia. A structured survey of nonelectric vehicle owners was administered in Perth ( n = 442; conventional petrol n = 408; hybrid n = 34). Protocol‐based cleaning and distributional diagnostics guided nonparametric inference and segmentation. Refuelling frequency comparisons between conventional and hybrid vehicle owners indicated higher visit frequency and monthly consumption among the former (monthly consumption: median 150 L vs. 92 L; U = 6963.5, z = 4.48, p < 0.001), whereas within conventional vehicle owners, no significant association was observed between monthly consumption and stated willingness to adopt an electric vehicle ( U = 6633.0, p = 0.671). Expected petrol price discounts were tightly centred (median 10%; interquartile range 5%–15%), yet cluster analysis revealed a distinct segment combining high discount expectations (≈22%) and higher monthly consumption (∼211 L). Correlation between consumption and discount expectations was negligible ( r ≈ 0.03, p > 0.05). These findings suggest that adoption‐related expectations and discount preferences reflect multidimensional psychological and contextual processes rather than direct cost exposure alone. Segmentation enables differentiated policy design: Cluster 1 (low discount expectations; low consumption) aligns with nonfinancial incentives such as workplace charging and environmental framing; Cluster 2 (moderate discounts; moderate consumption) responds to mixed interventions combining price incentives with operating‐cost information; Cluster 3 (high discount expectations; high consumption) is suited to strong financial instruments including loyalty‐based fuel discounts and targeted transition subsidies. The study contributes an empirically grounded behavioural transition model linking lived price experiences to adoption readiness, alongside a policy‐relevant consumer segmentation for pricing and infrastructure planning. Findings should be interpreted as a localised case study, as external validity is constrained by state‐level heterogeneity in incentives, prices and infrastructure.