Private charging pile owners' sharing intention: evidence from China

The sharing of private charging pile (PCP) can significantly alleviate the construction pressure on public charging infrastructure and benefit for low carbon travel. However, the PCP sharing is in a nascent state with a low market share in reality. Thus, we construct a comprehensive TAM-UTAUT structural equation model to explore the factors influencing the sharing intention of PCP from 660 survey responses of PCP owners. We also analyze the differences across heterogeneous groups. Our finding indicates that perceived trust, performance expectancy, social influence, and incentive policies have a positive impact on the sharing intention of PCP, with incentive policies exhibiting the strongest effect, followed by social influence. Interestingly, female owners' sharing intention is more responsive to both shared revenue and social conformity than that of male owners, whereas male owners tend to have greater concern regarding sharing risks. Younger owner groups are more significantly influenced by the practical effectiveness of sharing, while middle-aged and elderly groups pay more attention to policy incentives and sharing-related risks. Owners without private parking spaces are more influenced by the practical effectiveness of sharing. In contrast, owners with private spaces are more attentive to sharing risks and policy support. Based on the findings, we propose specific recommendations for both the government and the charging service operators to further promote the sharing of PCP.