Trigger of Diversity? Innovation Pattern of Electric Vehicles and its Impact for the Technical Solutions of Cars

Résumé:

In this paper, the author suggests that the innovation of Electric Vehicles comes along with the innovations of other dimensions of cars, such as body structure. And this fact implies that the automotive industry is now moving into the technological diversity, though actual market share of EVs sold in the world is still less than one per cent.
There are the diversified approach to develop vehicles with electrical power train. Some OEM develop EVs just replacing the power train of existing internal combustion engine vehicles. On the other hand, some OEMs develop EVs applying completely new body structure with new materials.
As Abernathy (1978) suggested, the automotive industry has been granted to share the “dominant design,” such as internal combustion engines, steel monocoque body, automatic transmission, and so on for long time. However, the innovation of electrical power train triggered the dispersion from the dominant design.
The author describes the innovation of electric vehicles from multiple domain to figure out the diversification of technological solutions of cars. And hypothetically points that this phenomenon comes from diversified cognition of the new technology and innovation.
Finally, the findings of this paper can be the significant suggestion on the theory of innovation management, such as Henderson and Clark (1990) and Bauer and Christensen (1995), whose research share the consequence of “domination of new innovation.” Conversely, this paper suggest the consequence of diversity.