Abstract
This study reinterprets the EKB model from an experiential perspective to examine electric vehicle (EV) consumer decision-making in Taiwan and extends the influence factors in the modified EKB model. Based on semi-structured interviews, the findings reveal how experience operates differently across five stages. Regarding internal factors, personal beliefs are identified as a long-term factors of problem recognition stage, while “Consumer experience with product/brand” is extended to include vicarious experience and experiential control. Post-purchase experience generates affect that, together with “Switching cost”, re-initiates evaluation cycles. Regarding external factors, real experiences from “Role of third parties” can shorten or bypass search and alternative evaluation stages. The study contributes by introducing experience forms as an analytical lens to explain how experience advances decision-making. It also suggests that EV brands should strategically design key touchpoints to enhance decision-making and foster long-term loyalty.
Keywords
UX (User Experience) and Usability, Electric Vehicles (EVs), Customer Experience (CX), Experience Design
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.1264
Citation
Chang, Y., and Tang, H. (2026) Understanding the Electric Vehicle Purchase Decision through the Lens of Experience, in Simeone, L., Gray, C. M., Verhoeven, A., de Götzen, A., Bakırlıoğlu, Y., Zohar, H., Stead, M., and Buwert, P. (eds.), DRS2026: Edinburgh, 8–12 June, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.1264
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Included in
Understanding the Electric Vehicle Purchase Decision through the Lens of Experience
This study reinterprets the EKB model from an experiential perspective to examine electric vehicle (EV) consumer decision-making in Taiwan and extends the influence factors in the modified EKB model. Based on semi-structured interviews, the findings reveal how experience operates differently across five stages. Regarding internal factors, personal beliefs are identified as a long-term factors of problem recognition stage, while “Consumer experience with product/brand” is extended to include vicarious experience and experiential control. Post-purchase experience generates affect that, together with “Switching cost”, re-initiates evaluation cycles. Regarding external factors, real experiences from “Role of third parties” can shorten or bypass search and alternative evaluation stages. The study contributes by introducing experience forms as an analytical lens to explain how experience advances decision-making. It also suggests that EV brands should strategically design key touchpoints to enhance decision-making and foster long-term loyalty.