Cold waves and electric vehicle adoption: Evidence from Chinese cities

The adoption of EVs is susceptible to extreme weather conditions. Currently, in transportation research literature there is no empirical research studying this. Cold waves can affect the performance of electric vehicles (EVs), leading to a reduction in consumer purchases. We use panel data from 293 Chinese cities, covering the period from 2016 to 2022, to examine the effect of the annual number of cold waves on EV adoption. We find that for each additional cold wave, the number of EV sold decreases by 10.1%. We employ instrumental variables and conduct a series of robustness tests to ensure the reliability of our estimates. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that cities with different terrain relief, vehicle density, and average distance between public charging facilities respond differently to cold waves in terms of EV adoption. Our findings offer insights into policymaking related to EV adoption and promotion, particularly considering the impact of cold waves.