La transición hacia el vehículo eléctrico: Cambios y dimensiones clave

Abstract

The transition to electric vehicles is a disruptive change that will produce significant transformations in multiple dimensions associated with the global production chains of the automotive industry. The aim of this article is to identify these changes and to analyse the fundamental dimensions and mechanisms that can act as drivers or constraints in this transition process. The main dimensions identified are: 1) Demand and financing, 2) Innovation and technological development, 3) Institutions and public policies, and 4) Climate crisis and resource availability. The emergence of the battery as a strategic component of electric vehicles represents a disruptive change in the vehicle composition, introducing a leadership conflict between traditional manufacturers in the sector and new supplier companies. Moreover, the advanced position of Asian companies implies a shift in the sector's production geography that may dilute its traditional degree of regionalization. The increase in protectionist measures - both tariff and non-tariff - is nothing but the political expression of this struggle for hierarchy in the transition, which will affect production and employment levels. All this poses challenges to public policies, both at the national and supranational governance levels, which can either drive or hinder the transition.