The role of government in the innovation ecology of high-tech industries: a case study of China's new energy vehicle industry

Abstract

The new energy vehicles (NEVs) are an important direction of technological and industrial development, and the new energy vehicle industry (NEVI) is heavily supported by governments around the world. Not only is replacing fossil-fuel-powered vehicles with NEVs an important measure to deal with the energy and environmental challenges in China, but the development of the NEVI is also an important strategy to leap forward in the larger automotive industry. Based on the analysis of the development process and industrial policy changes in China's NEVI, this paper reveals the evolution of industrial development under dynamic financial and non-financial policy support. It also identifies the unique role and effective mechanism of the government in the development process of NEVs from technology incubation to large-scale market application. Learning from the government's prior successes and failures in the NEVI innovation ecology, we make recommendations on how the government can better support the development of NEVI.