Ecosystem Strategy for e-Mobility: Business Model Innovation Beyond the Status Quo

Carriages went horseless more than a century ago, since then, the vehicle industry business model has been consistent: Design, develop, manufacture, and sell vehicles, then move on to the next generation. In a world of ubiquitous connectivity, e-commerce, congestion, and climate change, the business model must change.

Combining evolving travel, work, and residential landscapes with multiple new technologies in e-mobility creates both the opportunity and the need for stakeholders to rethink business models. To both spur the adoption of new technologies and achieve a business benefit, e-mobility companies need to form close partnerships with vendors in adjacent sectors and even make direct investments. Collaborating and investing can help overcome classic chicken-or-egg challenges, such as ensuring adequate charging infrastructure to support widespread EV deployment or securing simple access to connected vehicle data for third-party service providers and municipal planners. Ultimately, partnerships will enable a smoother transition for users and secure funding deployments.

This Guidehouse Insights report looks at the strategic actions and ecosystem benefits of vehicle industry innovation. The report explores the need for charging infrastructure development, easier modality transitions, and ecosystem diversity. In addition, the report provides accelerators and inhibitors of the emerging ecosystem and offers recommendations for market stakeholders.