Driving into the Future: Examining Consumer Trust and Usage Intention for Robotaxi

This research examines Robotaxi adoption in China by integrating the Extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) with Psychological Need Theory, thereby constructing a motivation–cognition–trust–intention model. Consumer trust is defined as consumers’ confidence in the Robotaxi system and its service provider to operate safely, reliably, and predictably amid uncertainty and risk. Based on data from 376 valid questionnaires and analyzed via PLS-SEM with bootstrapping, the results reveal that hedonic motivation and technology-acceptance beliefs shape usage intention through both direct paths and indirect paths mediated by consumer trust. Technology anxiety dampens both consumer trust and usage intention, while data privacy concerns directly curtail usage intention without significantly undermining consumer trust. Moreover, enthusiast influence and government policy strengthen the trust–intention relationship, indicating that contextual support amplifies the translation of trust into adoption intention.