“The influence of perceived ESG and policy incentives on consumers’ intention to purchase new energy vehicles: Empirical evidence from China”

The new energy vehicle industry has proliferated in the face of global climate change and challenges to sustainable development. Understanding the factors that encourage consumers to purchase new energy vehicles is essential to driving the new energy vehicle industry’s future development. Based on signaling theory, this study aims to investigate the significant influence of various factors, such as perceived ESG and policy incentives, on Chinese consumers’ intention to purchase new energy vehicles and explore the mediating effect of brand image and perceived value. This study adopts a quantitative research methodology by collecting data from 860 potential new energy vehicle consumers in China through a questionnaire survey and analyzing the data using structural equation modeling in AMOS 24.0. The results of the study show that consumers’ perceived ESG significantly affects their intention to purchase new energy vehicles. Brand image and perceived value mediate consumers’ perceived ESG factors and their purchase intention of new energy vehicles. Consumers’ positive attitudes will increase the purchase intention of new energy vehicles. In addition, government incentives also have a positive and significant effect on the intention to purchase new energy vehicles. These results provide sustainable marketing guidance for NEV companies, confirming the importance of good environmental, social, and governance performance, good brand image, and perceived benefits in driving purchases. In addition, this study provides empirical evidence of policy support for the NEV industry, thus reinforcing its importance for policymakers.


INTRODUCTION
The world faces two major challenges: global climate change and the urgent need for sustainable development (Poschen, 2017;Tian et al., 2022).These challenges have catalyzed a shift in the automotive industry paradigm, leading to the rapid growth and development of the new energy vehicle industry (Yuan et al., 2015).With countries making efforts to reduce the carbon footprint and advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (UN, 2015), new energy vehicles are at the frontline of this transformational journey, offering a sustainable alternative to traditional vehicles.cle sales and attracted more and more consumer attention and participation (Ma et al., 2019).However, the government's cancellation of the most critical financial subsidy policy in 2023 has posed a considerable challenge to the new energy vehicle industry and triggered uncertainty about the future of the industry (MOF et al., 2021).
Despite growing recognition that environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors have become important considerations for companies and investors (Van Duuren et al., 2016), there are still significant gaps in understanding the evolving role of ESG factors in consumers' NEV purchase decisions.Recently, however, consumer concerns about corporate social responsibility, environmental management, and sustainability have been on the rise (Gong et al., 2023), driven by increased awareness of sustainability and environmental protection (Tan & Zhu, 2022), highlighting the need for deeper research into how environmental, social, and corporate governance factors influence consumer choices in the new energy vehicle industry.In this context, understanding environmental, social, and corporate governance factors and their intricate interplay with consumer purchasing decisions is a significant gap in the literature.

LITERATURE REVIEW AND HYPOTHESES
In purchasing new energy vehicles, signaling theory, as described by Connelly et

METHOD
This quantitative study uses a questionnaire survey method to collect data.The purpose is to investigate the significant influence of various factors, such as perceived ESG and policy incentives, on Chinese consumers' intention to purchase new energy vehicles, as well as to explore the mediating effect of brand image and perceived value.Therefore, the research subjects are potential consumers of new energy vehicles in mainland China.This study used the division of seven geographic regions in China by Sang et 2023).All scales are scored using the 5-point Likert scale.The original questionnaire was back-translated with the help of language experts to maintain the consistency of the questionnaire content.In this study, to avoid users who do not meet the target, the questionnaire is designed with a screening question that first asks the respondents whether they are interested in new energy vehicles and whether they intend to purchase them in the future.

RESULTS
This study first conducted descriptive statistical information on the subjects and verified the data's reliability and validity through SPSS26.0 and AMOS24.0.Then, it constructed a structural equa-tion model to analyze whether each path hypothesized was supported.Table 2 shows descriptive information about the participants.To test the mediating effect of brand image and perceived value, this study used the bootstrapping function in AMOS 24.0 software.The 95% confidence interval results from 5000 bootstrap samples are presented in Table 6.It is worth noting that the absolute value of all Z values is greater than 1.96, and the 95% confidence interval does not include zero.This indicates that the results of the mediation effect are significant.
Specifically, perceived ESG significantly impacts consumer attitudes through the mediating effect of brand image (β = 0.175, p < 0.001).This result provides strong support for H7a.Perceived ESG significantly impacts consumer attitudes through the mediating effect of perceived value (β = 0.166, p < 0.001).This result provides strong support for H7b.Perceived ESG significantly impacts consumers' intention to purchase new energy vehicles through the mediating effect of brand image and consumer attitude (β = 0.057, p < 0.001).This result provides strong support for H8a.Perceived ESG significantly impacts consumers' intention to purchase new energy vehicles through the mediating effect of perceived value and consumer attitude (β = 0.054, p < 0.001).This result provides strong support for H8b.

DISCUSSION
This study explores the complex factors that influence consumer decision-making in China's fast-growing new energy vehicle industry.The core of the findings is the profound impact of consumers' perceived ESG on consumer attitudes and consumer purchase intentions.The findings are consistent with Koh et al. (2022), who emphasized the positive correlation between consumers' perceived ESG and brand image.This suggests that in  Qualitative research methods such as in-depth interviews or focus groups can reveal consumers' underlying motivations and decision-making processes for adopting new energy vehicles.Assessing the effectiveness of a particular policy incentive is critical to promoting sustainable transport.In addition, research on obstacles to the expansion of the new energy vehicle market and potential solutions to these challenges will help boost the development of the field.

CONCLUSION
This study examines the significant influence of perceived ESG and policy incentives on Chinese consumers' intention to purchase new energy vehicles.It discusses the mediating effect of brand image and perceived value.The results of this study show that perceived ESG positively affects brand image and perceived value and that brand image and perceived value directly affect consumer attitudes toward new energy vehicles.The results suggest that consumer attitudes and policy incentives significantly influence new energy vehicle purchase intentions.The results also reveal the significant mediating effects of brand image and perceived value as perceived ESG influences consumer attitudes.Firstly, perceived ESG is a significant antecedent influencing consumer purchase intention.Meanwhile, perceived value was a significant predictor of consumer attitudes.In addition, consumer attitudes are an essential factor in their purchase decisions.
There are the following management implications based on the findings of this study.First, new energy vehicle companies should prioritize and publicize their ESG measures, invest in brand-building activities, and create a credible brand image around sustainability and innovation.Second, new energy vehicle companies should emphasize value propositions and focus on delivering high-quality vehicles with outstanding performance and safety at competitive prices.For policymakers, incentives for consumers to purchase new energy vehicles, such as financial subsidies and tax exemptions, should be en-

Figure 2 .
Figure 2. Research model with results Fan (2019)indicated that a positive Chinese brand image influences Korean consumers, while Hwang and Lyu (2020) stressed the impact of an airline's green image on consumer choice.In the new energy vehicle sector, alignment with ESG values can improve consumer attitudes.Leeand Rhee (2023) found that sustainability perceptions enhance consumer purchase attitudes toward new energy vehicles.X. Zhang et al. (2018) and W. Zhang et al. (2022) further highlighted the positive impact of perceived benefits on attitudes.
(Ng et al., 2018)9) significant role.It addresses the issue of information asymmetry between consumers and sellers.brands,consumersdeterminetheirpurchasingdecisionsbyevaluatingtheseESGfactors.Koh et al. (2022)emphasized that perceived ESG refers to how consumers perceive these aspects of a company or brand.S.Du et al. (2007)stated that strong beliefs about ESG make consumers more sensitive, which in turn causes them to show higher levels of ESG-performing companies' heightened loyalty and advocacy behaviors.Companies are beginning to recognize the importance of ESG activities not only because of their impact on stakeholders but also to gain legitimacy and recognition, especially from consumers(Giannarakis, 2014).Camilleri (Policy incentives play a crucial role in boosting the development of the new energy vehicle industry.Z.Wang et al. (2017)pointed out that these incentives are government-imposed measures aimed at promoting the development of the new energy vehicle industry and increasing sales.In China, the government has implemented a series of consumer-focused policy incentives.J. Li et al. (2021) listed financial subsidies, purchase tax reductions, parking fee reductions, restrictions on traditional fuel vehicles, unlimited driving policies for new energy vehicles, and the construction of charging infrastructure.These incentive policy measures have paved the way for developing new energy vehicles, creating a favorable external environment, and facilitating the industry's market expansion in China (W.Li et al., 2016).In exploring the impact of these policies on consumer behavior, Z.Wang et al. (2017)applied the theory of planned behavior model to investigate consumers' willingness to purchase new energy vehicle, and the findings provided evidence of a significant correlation between policy privileges and consumers' purchase intentions.Furthermore, Huang and Ge (2019) confirmed that monetary incentives can significantly affect consumers' purchase intentions.In addition, Lin and Shi (2022) revealed that the government could use non-monetary incentive policy propaganda to influence consumers' early car purchase intention.Consumer purchase intention is a key indicator for understanding market behavior.Yoo et al. (2000)define it as a consumer's tendency to purchase a product.This intention reflects current consumer sentiment and bridges the gap between consumers' beliefs, attitudes, and final decisions(Nagar, 2015).In corporate responsibility, ESG factors have be-Moreover, D. Zhang and Liu (2022) pointed out that good ESG performance will send positive signals through brand image, increasing Chinese consumers' purchase intention.The perceived ESG will affect consumers' attitudes through the transmission of perceived value, and then consumers' attitudes will affect consumers' willingness to buy the brand.If consumers perceive a brand's new energy vehicle to demonstrate high quality and meet ESG principles, it will enhance overall attitudes toward that brand(Chen et al., 2019).The perceived value of new energy vehicles, including their ESG performance, acts as a bridge between signaling and consumer attitudes(He & Hu, 2022), ultimately influencing consumers' purchase intentions(Ng et al., 2018).H8b: Consumers' perceived ESG and perceived value play a positive mediation role in consumer attitudes and purchase intention.

Table 2 .
Demographic variable descriptive statistics

Table 1 .
Questionnaire distribution and response rate

Table 3 .
Reliability and validity

Table 4 .
Bivariate correlation, mean, and standard deviations

Table 5 .
Standardized regression estimates and p-values