Abstract
The aim of this research is to identify and explore the UK electric vehicle (EV) battery industry’s supply chain strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) by taking a leading UK EV battery company as an exploratory case study. Our research addresses the gap in knowledge surrounding the UK EV battery supply chain, as the current literature is limited whilst demands for EVs are surging. There are significant opportunities awaiting the EV battery industry, though it is crucial that companies are aware of the threats facing them. To address the gap, this research followed an exploratory qualitative research design using semi-structured interviews with experienced interviewees in the industry. By applying the SWOT analysis framework and the theory lens of Resource Based View (RBV), we suggest that the UK EV battery industry should diversify its supply base into multiple regions such as India, Africa, and the US, which would reduce the reliance on sourcing from China whilst maintaining good supplier relationships and continuous innovation.
Highlights
Electric vehicle (EV), one form of Alternative Fuelled Vehicle (AFV), has become a hot topic in the global automotive industry
A thematic analysis was undertaken in this research, which was chosen as it is considered to be a foundational approach to qualitative data analysis supported by Braun and Clarke [66]
Codes relating to supply chain locations and increases in the quantity of parts available can be seen as external factors, which is why they have been categorised as Opportunities
Summary
Electric vehicle (EV), one form of Alternative Fuelled Vehicle (AFV), has become a hot topic in the global automotive industry. In the UK, AFV registrations are rising rapidly from 1,690 units in 2001 to 141,270 units in 2018, which account for around 6% of the UK market [2]. The UK National Grid predicts that the stock of EVs in the UK will reach between 2.7 and 10.6 million units by 2030 and could rise as high as 36 million units by 2040 according to the House of Commons [3]. Accenture in April 2019 forecasted that EV sales would grow exponentially, and that over half of all UK vehicles sales would be EVs by 2040 [3]. This statistic highlights EVs as a promising and fast-growing industry
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