Climate change has accelerated the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). However, it remains unclear how EVs
shape consumers’ climate engagement and market performance. This study uses signaling theory to examine how
driving range, a key sustainability signal, influences climate engagement under varying price levels and
manufacturer types, and how this, in turn, affects market performance. Drawing on 67,757 EV model-year observations
from the Chinese market (2018–2022), it combines emotional analysis of consumer reviews with
hierarchical regression models. The findings show that driving range enhances climate engagement, especially
for higher-price models and non-domestic manufacturers, which strengthens signal credibility. In turn, climate
engagement boosts sales performance and partially mediates the range-sales relationship. Theoretically, the
study extends signaling theory to sustainability and clarifies the boundary conditions of effective signals.
Methodologically, it introduces a novel measure of climate engagement and practical insights for manufacturers
to enhance consumer engagement and market performance in emerging markets.