Are Mini and full-size electric vehicle adopters satisfied? An application of the regression with dummy variables

Sales of emerging mini-sized battery electric vehicles (Mini EVs) have surged in China, however, user satisfaction and improvement priorities in this new segment have not been reported. This study fills this gap and explores the satisfaction asymmetry in the EV field. It examines the asymmetric impact of service factors on overall satisfaction in Mini and full-size EVs and highlights their improvement priorities by exploring the impact of different dummy variables, regression models, significance levels, and asymmetry analysis approaches on the asymmetry results in regression with dummy variables (RDV). The results show that different parameter settings and method choices in RDV have different impacts on satisfaction asymmetry. Based on a reference level of 4, a linear regression model, a significance level of 0.1, and the Range method in RDV, three asymmetry factors are observed for Mini EVs and four factors for full-size EVs. Results also show that charging station density and charging coupons need to be urgently improved for Mini EVs, while control panel display and charging time can be further enhanced for full-size EVs. This study deepens the understanding of the satisfaction theory based on the RDV method and provides new practical implications for EV segment diffusion.