Consumers’ Preferences for Domestic Lithium Content in Electric Vehicles: A U.S. Discrete Choice Experiment

Despite substantial research on consumer preferences for electric vehicle (EV) performance, limited studies explicitly model preferences for domestic sourcing of battery minerals. We administer a discrete choice experiment to a nationally representative online sample of 1,200 U.S. respondents, incorporating the location of lithium mining and refining as key attributes. We randomly assign respondents to one of four information conditions: environmental impacts of lithium mining, emissions from refining, economic benefits of mining, or a control group. Mixed logit results reveal measurable but heterogeneous willingness to pay (WTP) for domestic sourcing. In the full sample, respondents are willing to pay approximately $29 per percentage-point increase in domestically mined lithium and $1,613 for domestic refining. Respondents exposed to positive information about economic benefits of mining are willing to pay $59 per percentage-point increase in domestic mining and $2,226 for domestic refining, whereas the control group does not exhibit a statistically significant valuation for these sourcing attributes. Respondents exposed to negative information about lithium refining show WTP of $25 and $1,609, respectively. These results suggest that information framing shapes preferences: positive information increases WTP for domestic sourcing, and negative information lowers but does not reverse preference for domestic sourcing. The findings highlight the importance of supply-chain transparency and informational context in shaping EV consumer preferences.