The development of automated vehicles (AVs) has attracted increasing attention. Understanding public acceptance of AVs and their intention to use them, which are the primary aims of the present study, are especially important considering that increasingly more AVs will be moving on the road in the coming future. A total of 527 participants voluntarily and validly completed a series of questionnaires, including the automated vehicle acceptability scale (AVAS), Big Five Inventory (BFI) and some sociodemographic variables. The results of an internal consistency, reliability and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) confirmed the two-factor (contextual acceptability and impaired driving) structure of the AVAS. The Chinese public generally has a positive attitude towards AVs. In addition, our results indicatethe possibility of the misuse of AVs. More importantly, the results reveal thatcontextual acceptability partially mediated the effect of agreeableness on the willingness to drive and the willingness to own AVs and fully mediated its effect on the willingness to rent AVs, while contextual acceptability and interest in impaired driving fully mediated the effect of the openness on the willingness to drive, own and rent AVs. Manufacturers and retailers in the automotive vehicle industry should provide their customers with comprehensive information regarding the principles and limitations behind the system and the responsibility and obligations of the drivers to avoid misuse. Moreover, providing more targeted services according to customers’ different personality traits might be a useful sales technique.