Understanding pre-owned electric vehicle purchase intentions: An extended Theory of Planned Behavior approach

The electric vehicle (EV) market is expanding rapidly owing to environmental concerns that accelerate the shift toward sustainable transportation. Pre-owned EVs can widen adoption by offering a cost-effective alternative; however, they combine the traits of both new EVs and conventional used cars, creating decision complexities that remain understudied. To address this gap, we extend the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) with EV-specific benefit and risk and test the model using survey data from 347 licensed South Korean drivers with EV experience who plan to purchase vehicles. Our structural equation modeling shows that attitude ( β = 0.624), subjective norm ( β = 0.221), and perceived behavioral control ( β = 0.180) significantly enhance the intention to buy pre-owned EVs, with attitude being the strongest factor. Moreover, the proposed extended Theory of Planned Behavior accounts for 62.2% of the variance in pre-owned EV purchase intentions Users’ attitude grows with perceived benefit and declines with perceived risk. Critical motivation is the leading source of perceived benefit, whereas financial risk is the dominant perceived risk. The extended TPB framework provides evidence for clarifying how intrinsic motivations and EV-related risks shape consumer perceptions and ultimately purchase intention in the secondary EV market. Practically, policymakers and marketers should stress the environmental and symbolic merits of used EVs, supply transparent battery health metrics, and offer financial guarantees to reduce risk and stimulate demand.