When Adoption Fades: Post-Adoption Dynamics of Electric Two-Wheeler Riders

Abstract

The current study shifts the focus of sustainability researchers to potential rejectors, the set of consumers who intend to abandon a technology (electric vehicles, EVs in this case) after sufficient use. Recent research indicates rising discontinuities among EV riders' post-adoption. While a recent McKinsey report affirmed rising discontinuation rates ranging from 13% to 49% across countries such as Australia, China, Japan, Brazil, and the U.S., the rates vary from 13% to 49%. Alternatively, Dua et al. (2024) reported that among 8457 new EV buyers, nearly 35% expressed a strong intention to discontinue. Hardman and Tal. (2021) highlighted that around 18.15% of EV users discontinued using them between 2012 and 2018. This is relevant, as, on the one hand, countries globally are grappling with low EV adoption rates (Ashok et al., 2025); on the other hand, rising discontinuities highlight further concerns that will hinder the achievement of global sustainability goals (Dua et al., 2024; Ooi et al., 2025). To fill this gap, the current study deviates from the adoption- and barriers-based approach employed by researchers to date (Jaiswal et al., 2022; Chakraborty & Chakravarty, 2023; Corradi et al., 2023; Adu-Gyamfi et al., 2024; Bhat & Verma, 2023; 2024; 2025; Yadav & Yadav, 2024; Gupta & Anand, 2025) and seeks to identify the antecedents driving these discontinuities in post-adoption settings. The current s tudy utilises the expectations disconfirmation model (Oliver, 1977; 1980; 1981) to propose a model that examines whether the disconfirmation of functional, experiential, and symbolic expectations nurtures E2W dissatisfaction, which in turn fosters discontinuance and switching intentions. As a precursor to the proposed model, a qualitative study was conducted, comprising 40 interviews with E2W buyers to frame and conceptualise their functional, experiential, and symbolic expectations, which were subsequently utilised to propose the framework. The grounded theory approach (Glaser & Strauss, 2017) was used to inductively analyse the gathered data in NVivo software to identify emerging themes based on respondents' expectations. Findings were utilised to propose a strategic framework that offers tactical strategies for controlling rising rejection rates among E2W buyers or for achieving sustainability goals for a cleaner, greener world.