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High-Speed Rail and China’s Electric Vehicle Adoption Miracle

Author

Listed:
  • Hanming Fang

    (University of Pennsylvania and NBER)

  • Ming Li

    (The Chinese University of Hong Kong)

  • Long Wang

    (Fudan University)

  • Yang Yang

    (The Chinese University of Hong Kong)

Abstract

Using China’s expansion of the high-speed rail system (HSR) as a quasi-natural experiment, we analyze the comprehensive vehicle registration data from 2010 to 2023 to estimate the causal impact of HSR connectivity on the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). Implementing several identification strategies, including staggered difference-indifferences (DID), Callaway and Sant’Anna (CS) DID, and two instrumental-variable approaches, we consistently find that, by alleviating range anxiety, the expansion of HSR can account for up to one third of the increase in EV market share and EV sales in China during our sample period, with effects particularly pronounced in cities served by faster HSR lines. The results remain robust when controlling for local industrial policies, charging infrastructure growth, supply-side factors, and economic development. We also find that HSR connectivity amplifies the effectiveness of charging infrastructure and consumer purchase subsidies in promoting EV adoption.

Suggested Citation

  • Hanming Fang & Ming Li & Long Wang & Yang Yang, 2025. "High-Speed Rail and China’s Electric Vehicle Adoption Miracle," PIER Working Paper Archive 25-006, Penn Institute for Economic Research, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania.
    • Handle: RePEc:pen:papers:25-006
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Electric Vehicles; High-Speed Rail; Industrial Policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L52 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Industrial Policy; Sectoral Planning Methods
    • L53 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Enterprise Policy
    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
    • Q55 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Technological Innovation
    • R41 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion; Travel Time; Safety and Accidents; Transportation Noise

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