Electric vehicles: Struggles in creating a market

Toyota is the pioneer in the hybrid electric vehicle, and today almost all major car assemblers produce hybrid cars. Now, several auto manufacturers are preparing for the commercial launches of battery powered electric vehicles in 2011. Another battle for dominance in electric car market has started. However, the development of technologies for electric cars has a very long history and presently there is a huge diversity of technological solutions in development. In order to understand the evolution of electric vehicles, we carried out two related case studies. In the first case study, we analyze the experience of General Motors in the last 40 years in developing electric vehicles. Our focuses are on the objectives of each development, technologies employed and external factors that stimulated each effort. The results show that in the first 20 years the main objective is to explore different technologies. The intention to launch a commercial electric vehicle only appears in the last 20 years. In the second case study, we analyze propulsion technologies and product architectures electric vehicles announced, in the last few years, by established auto manufacturers and new entrants. The results show that innovations in product architecture can provide a niche market for electric vehicles.