Buying Versus Waiting: How Anticipated Regret Shapes Electric Vehicle Purchase Intention Under Technological Acceleration

Rapid technological iteration has turned electric vehicle (EV) purchasing into a decision about timing: buy now, or wait for a better model. Prior research explains how favorably consumers evaluate EVs, but not when they intend to buy. It also treats anticipated regret as a single emotion, although regret over buying too early and regret over waiting too long pull behavior in opposite directions. We therefore treat anticipated regret as a second-order construct with two components, purchase regret and waiting regret, and estimate a first-stage moderated mediation model. The model links perceived technology benefits and perceived obsolescence risk to purchase intention through the two components, with technology trust, peer effects and corporate assurance commitment as moderators. Using 567 valid responses from Nanjing, Suzhou and Wuxi, we estimated hierarchical ordinary least squares regressions with bootstrapping. Perceived technology benefits were associated with higher purchase intention, and perceived obsolescence risk with lower purchase intention. Both components mediated these effects in opposite directions, consistent with a push–pull mechanism in which purchase regret suppresses and waiting regret reinforces purchase intention. All three moderators shaped the regret pathways. These findings clarify why consumers hesitate at the point of purchase and identify levers that firms and policymakers can use to shorten that hesitation.