The competitive environment of electric vehicles: An analysis of prototype and production models

Abstract This study analyzes the industrial dynamics of electric vehicles using product life cycle and eco-innovation concepts. A unique database of approximately 450 electric vehicle prototype and production models from 1991 to 2011 was collected and analyzed. This research largely focused on three factors that become fluid during a transitional era of ferment (the technology, the set of firms and the target market). Results show that since 2004, the number of companies producing electric vehicle (EV) models has substantially increased with startup firms comprising a majority of that growth. The variety of battery types used in EV models has expanded, largely through lithium-ion chemistries. Large incumbents and startup firms have targeted different consumer markets with their EV models. Startup firms developed EV models for niche markets (sports cars and low speed vehicles) while large incumbents generally developed EV models that are more in line with current customer demands.

[1]  S. Klepper.  Entry, Exit, Growth, and Innovation over the Product Life Cycle , 1996 .

[2]  Brian Caulfield,et al.  Examining individuals preferences for hybrid electric and alternatively fuelled vehicles , 2010 .

[3]  Sjoerd Bakker,et al.  Hydrogen patent portfolios in the automotive industry – The search for promising storage methods , 2010 .

[4]  Sjoerd Bakker,et al.  The car industry and the blow-out of the hydrogen hype , 2010 .

[5]  M. Tushman,et al.  Technological Discontinuities and Dominant Designs: A Cyclical Model of Technological Change , 1990 .

[6]  P. David,et al.  The Economics Of Compatibility Standards: An Introduction To Recent Research 1 , 1990 .

[7]  Ron Adner.  When Are Technologies Disruptive: A Demand-Based View of the Emergence of Competition , 2002 .

[8]  K. Kurani,et al.  Car buyers and fuel economy , 2007 .

[9]  Clayton M. Christensen,et al.  Disruptive Technologies: Catching the Wave , 1995 .

[10]  James M. Utterback,et al.  Innovation, Competition, and Industry Structure , 1993 .

[11]  Alan Pilkington,et al.  Innovation in disruptive regulatory environments: A patent study of electric vehicle technology development , 2006 .

[12]  ScienceDirect,et al.  Environmental innovation and societal transitions , 2011 .

[13]  Daniel S Turner,et al.  Advanced Transportation Institute II , 2003 .

[14]  Daniel A. Levinthal,et al.  ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY: A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON LEARNING AND INNOVATION , 1990 .

[15]  G. Kramer,et al.  A multi-level perspective on the introduction of hydrogen and battery-electric vehicles , 2010 .

[16]  K. Frenken,et al.  Models in evolutionary economics and environmental policy: Towards an evolutionary environmental economics , 2009 .

[17]  J. Sterman,et al.  Transition challenges for alternative fuel vehicle and transportation systems , 2006 .

[18]  James M. Utterback,et al.  Mastering the Dynamics of Innovation , 1996 .

[19]  K. Rennings.  Redefining innovation -- eco-innovation research and the contribution from ecological economics , 2000 .

[20]  Thomas Magnusson,et al.  Entering an era of ferment – radical vs incrementalist strategies in automotive power train development , 2011, Technol. Anal. Strateg. Manag..

[21]  Wander Jager,et al.  Stimulating diffusion of green products , 2002 .

[22]  Kim B. Clark,et al.  Architectural Innovation: The Reconfiguration of Existing Product Technologies and the Failure of , 1990 .

[23]  Jean-Jacques Chanaron,et al.  Hybrid vehicles: a temporary step , 2007 .

[24]  H. V. Lente,et al.  Dominance in the prototyping phase - The case of hydrogen passenger cars , 2012 .

[25]  Masaru Yarime,et al.  The emergence of hybrid-electric cars: Innovation path creation through co- evolution of supply and demand , 2010 .

[26]  S. Potter,et al.  The adoption of cleaner vehicles in the UK: exploring the consumer attitude–action gap , 2007 .

[27]  R. Loulou,et al.  Energy and environment , 2005 .

[28]  Vanessa Oltra,et al.  Variety of technological trajectories in low emission vehicles (LEVs) : a patent data analysis. , 2006 .

[29]  James M. Utterback,et al.  A dynamic model of process and product innovation , 1975 .

[30]  C. C. Chan,et al.  The State of the Art of Electric, Hybrid, and Fuel Cell Vehicles , 2007, Proceedings of the IEEE.

[31]  P. Menanteau,et al.  Competing technologies and the diffusion of innovations: the emergence of energy-efficient lamps in the residential sector , 2000 .

[32]  M van Dijk,et al.  Technological Regimes and Industrial Dynamics: The Evidence from Dutch Manufacturing , 2000 .

[33]  M. Tushman,et al.  Technological Discontinuities and Organizational Environments , 1986 .

[34]  J. Besenhard,et al.  Handbook of Battery Materials , 1998 .

[35]  Philip Hillyer Smith.  Wheels within wheels , 1968 .

[36]  R. V. Wyk.  Innovation: The attacker's advantage : Richard N. Foster 316 pages, £14.95 (London, Macmillan, 1986) , 1987 .

[37]  Michael L. Tushman,et al.  Dominant Designs, Innovation Types and Organizational Outcomes , 1998 .

[38]  Alan Pilkington,et al.  Gales of creative destruction and the opportunistic incumbent: The case of electric vehicles in California , 2005, Technol. Anal. Strateg. Manag..

[39]  Kim B. Clark,et al.  The Interaction of Design Hierarchies and market Concepts in Technological Evolution : Research Policy , 1985 .

[40]  David A. Kirsch.  The Electric Vehicle and the Burden of History , 2000 .

[41]  Clayton M. Christensen.  The Innovator's Dilemma , 1997 .

[42]  Marilyn A Brown.  Market failures and barriers as a basis for clean energy policies , 2001 .

[43]  James E. McMahon,et al.  Energy Efficiency Policy and Market Failures , 1995 .

[44]  J. Thøgersen,et al.  Marketing of electric vehicles , 1999 .