About KAPSARC
KAPSARC is an advisory think tank within global energy economics and sustainability
providing advisory services to entities and authorities in the Saudi energy sector to
advance Saudi Arabia’s energy sector and inform global policies through evidence-
based advice and applied research.
This publication is also available in Arabic.
Legal Notice
© Copyright 2024 King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center
(“KAPSARC”). This Document (and any information, data or materials contained
therein) (the “Document”) shall not be used without the proper attribution to
KAPSARC. The Document shall not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without the
written permission of KAPSARC. KAPSARC makes no warranty, representation or
undertaking whether expressed or implied, nor does it assume any legal liability,
whether direct or indirect, or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or
usefulness of any information that is contained in the Document. Nothing in the
Document constitutes or shall be implied to constitute advice, recommendation, or
option. The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors
and do not necessarily reflect the ocial views or position of KAPSARC.
3Emerging Policy and Economic Research Priorities for Enabling the Electric Vehicle Sector
Key Points
We highlight key emerging research priorities on the climate- and industrial-
policy driven pathway to passenger car electrification, including both pure
battery electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, using a three-pronged
approach. This includes examining journalistic reports from a research
perspective, corroborating the determined research priorities with recent
literature, and consulting a diverse group of experts in the policy, technology,
fuel, and infrastructure fields.
We delineate eight overarching themes that correspond
to distinct research challenges and prospects. Specific
emerging research issues related to (i) assessing
the impact of U.S. and European policies on the
competitiveness of their domestic electric vehicle (EV)
battery industry in relation to China and global trade
in batteries, (ii) exploring the prospect and eect of
rising metal prices on the battery and EV markets, and
(iii) assessing the EV price trends and the continued
necessity of government subsidies in light of declining
battery costs and EV price wars among automakers
all received particularly high scores, computed by
integrating expert ratings on importance in enabling the
EV sector, novelty, and feasibility using a multi-criteria
decision-making framework.
Pursuing this new research agenda should help inform
policymakers and industry decision-makers to ensure a
smooth ride towards passenger car electrification.
4Emerging Policy and Economic Research Priorities for Enabling the Electric Vehicle Sector
Introduction
A number of nations are pushing ahead on a path toward passenger car
electrification as part of their climate and industrial policies, including the
aspiration of dominating the global automotive market (Meckling and Nahm
2019). The European Union, for instance, has enacted legislation aiming for
a 100% share of new vehicle sales with zero tailpipe emissions, particularly
electric vehicles, barring an exemption permitting internal combustion engine
vehicles (ICEVs) running on carbon-neutral synthetic fuels (Hancock, Dubois,
and Bounds 2023; Council of the European Union 2023). California mirrors
this approach, mandating the exclusive sale of zero tailpipe emission vehicles
by 2035 (Bushey and Grimes 2022; California Air Resources Board 2022).
China’s New Energy Vehicle policy sets escalating targets for EVs and other
new energy vehicles (International Council on Clean Transportation 2021). In
the United States, increasingly stringent fuel economy and CO2 standards
favor EV adoption (Bushey and Williams 2023), complemented by demand-
side incentives, such as federal tax credits under the 2022 enacted Inflation
Reduction Act (IRA) (Laing 2023). These measures reflect not only climate
concerns but also industrial ambitions. China, for example, views EVs as
an avenue to establish a strong foothold in the global automotive market,
traditionally dominated by automakers from Japan, Germany, and the United
States (U.S.), which specialize in ICEV manufacturing (White and Campbell
2023; Liu et al. 2020; Campbell et al. 2023). The culmination of these climate
and industrial policies is anticipated to significantly boost demand for EVs. In
the pursuit of achieving their EV aspirations, particularly amid rising geopolitical
tensions, it is imperative for nations to recognize emerging research challenges
so that they can strategically allocate resources. We identify such emerging
research challenges along the passenger car electrification pathway in this
work. The core research questions we seek to address are: (1) What are some
of the contemporary thematic areas related to passenger car electrification
being reported in the media, and (2) what are some of the policy and techno-
economic research priorities that emerge from these contemporary issues?
These questions guide our exploration of various aspects of the EV sector,
aiming to delineate an emerging policy and techno-economic research agenda
addressing, which can facilitate further development of the EV sector.
5Emerging Policy and Economic Research Priorities for Enabling the Electric Vehicle Sector
This study represents, to the best of our knowledge, the
first eort to prioritize emerging research challenges
in the EV sector. This prioritization was achieved by
analyzing recent journalistic investigations through the
lens of economics and policy research, corroborating
findings with academic literature, and consulting a diverse
group of experts. The identified research priorities
could provide valuable guidance for future academic
and industrial research endeavors. These eorts have
the potential to yield actionable recommendations for
policymakers and industry stakeholders. Decision-makers
at research funding agencies would also potentially
derive value from these findings when it comes to the
prioritization of future research grants.
In terms of research gaps that this work addresses, it
is worth acknowledging that the formulation of future
research agendas is typically confined to brief paragraphs
in the concluding sections of academic papers and often
narrow enough to be concentrated on the specific sub-
theme explored within that paper. In many cases, future
research directions are primarily derived from the authors’
expert judgment and frequently lack validation from
outside experts. Furthermore, there is a lack of emphasis
on the alignment between the outlined future academic
research priorities and the perspectives of non-academic
stakeholders regarding the research that they believe
is necessary to tackle the contemporary challenges
encountered by the sector. This work addresses these
gaps by delineating a wide range of emerging issues
that warrant deeper investigation identified through
journalistic reports that include views of non-academic
stakeholders in corroboration with academic literature
and prioritized through consultation with a diverse group
of energy economics and policy experts.
6Emerging Policy and Economic Research Priorities for Enabling the Electric Vehicle Sector
Background
We provide a summary of the relevant grey literature and peer-reviewed
journal articles, clustered by themes.1 In particular, each theme includes
a concise analysis of the relevant media (news) articles. In addition, we
provide specific examples of relevant research questions that have been
investigated so far in academic literature in relation to the emerging issues.
The derived condensed and organized themes could serve as a valuable
resource for busy individuals seeking a concise and broad overview of the
emerging EV sector discourse.
Theme 1: Governments’ Strategies to
Localize the EV Battery Supply Chain
In such media (news) inquiries, the Western nations’
strategies and challenges related to diversifying EV
battery supply chains away from China are frequently
discussed topics (Bounds 2022; White and Lewis 2022;
Beattie 2022). This issue encompasses the high global
market share held by Chinese groups in the production
capacity for battery electrodes (Bounds 2022). There is
a focus on the eorts of the U.S. and Europe to decrease
their reliance on China for EV batteries through significant
capital expenditure and strategic initiatives (White and
Lewis 2022). The theme also involves understanding
the geopolitical and economic implications of China’s
dominant position in the global battery supply chain,
as well as the competition between China and Western
nations (Beattie 2022).
In the realm of academic research, a significant focus has
been placed on understanding the feasibility of the critical
mineral targets set by the U.S. “Inflation Reduction Act”
(IRA) for EV batteries. This exploration, as highlighted
by Trost and Dunn (2023), not only considers dierent
battery types but also delves into the environmental
and supply chain implications associated with these
targets. Another critical area of investigation, as noted
by Vivoda (2023), involves examining the concept of
“friend-shoring.”2 This strategy is particularly relevant for
Western nations seeking to mitigate the vulnerabilities
in their supply chains, especially concerning the critical
minerals essential for clean energy technologies.
Furthermore, scholars like Kleimann et al. (2023) have
been exploring the main dierences between the U.S. IRA
and its European counterparts. This comparison primarily
revolves around the aspects of green subsidies and their
broader implications on the international trading system
and future green industrial policies. Lastly, the research by
Bown (2023b) sheds light on the implications of the U.S.
IRA on transatlantic cooperation, particularly between the
U.S. and the EU, considering the shared concerns about
various economic, social, and geopolitical factors.
Theme 2: EV Rollout Challenges: Rising
Raw Material Prices and Automakers’
Responses
The major common issue being explored in this theme
is the rising cost of lithium-ion batteries in 2022 and its
impact on the EV industry. With lithium-ion battery prices
increasing for the first time in 2022 in over a decade
due to rising raw material costs (Dempsey 2022), car
manufacturers are seeking ways to secure a stable and
aordable supply of batteries. This includes carmakers
investing in early-stage mining companies as well as
forging direct deals with the mining sector (Bushey and
Dempsey 2022).
Pertinent questions explored in recent academic literature
include the investigation by Wang et al. (2023) into the
complexities faced by China in balancing its ambitious
EV and climate objectives with the rising prices of critical
battery metals, scrutinizing the influence of price volatility
7Emerging Policy and Economic Research Priorities for Enabling the Electric Vehicle Sector
on the competitiveness and expansion of the EV market.
Additionally, European automakers’ innovative strategies
in adopting circular business models to navigate supply
constraints related to lithium-ion batteries have been
examined by Albertsen et al. (2021). Concurrently, the
research by Yang and Fulton (2023) provides insights into
the evolving landscape of investments and production
capacities in the battery and EV sectors. Their work
critically evaluates the existing and potential gaps
between the burgeoning production capabilities and
the aggressive climate-driven targets, underscoring the
need for strategic planning and investment in this rapidly
evolving industry.
Theme 3: The Geopolitical Battle for
Control of Critical Metals for EVs
Predominantly, media (news) reports on this topic
concentrate on the eorts of resource-rich nations to
collaborate in order to exert enhanced control over
the supply of EV battery metals. They also discuss the
economic and strategic implications of such cooperative
measures. This includes exploring the geopolitical
dynamics surrounding nations rich in these resources and
their eorts to control global supply and pricing, as well as
the potential formation of Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC)-like groups for critical
battery metals (Dempsey and Ruehl 2022). The reports
highlight Indonesia’s consideration of forming a nickel
group, as well as previous discussions between Chile,
Argentina, and Bolivia about forming a similar lithium
group (Dempsey and Ruehl 2022). The inquiries also
address such countries’ approaches to potential foreign
partnerships, such as Bolivia’s approach to potential
foreign partnerships for its state lithium company, as well
as the principles that guide such agreements to ensure
benefits for their people (Graham 2022).
Key academic inquiries in this realm include an
examination by Mancheri (2015) into the implications of
Chinese export restrictions on the global trade of “critical”
materials, with a specific focus on rare earths. This
research delves into the consequential impacts of such
restrictions on the accessibility of these vital materials
for industrialized nations, highlighting the intricate
interplay between national policies and global supply
chains. Complementing this perspective, Månberger and
Johansson (2019) explore the geopolitical significance
of metals that are essential for the green transition,
particularly in the context of renewable energy. Their
investigation encompasses various dimensions such
as the concentration of resources, potential revenues
for resource-rich nations, and the overarching global
market dynamics.
Theme 4: Battery Startups and Government
Support
In this set of media enquiries, the role of government
support in developing domestic battery gigafactories
is the central theme. This includes focus on how
government backing can lead to the establishment of
such gigafactories, which are expected to create jobs
and contribute to the growth of the battery industry
(Dempsey and Williams 2022). Additionally, there is an
emphasis on the importance of investor confidence and
how it can impact the cost-eectiveness of building
these gigafactories with potential implications for public
spending (Rutter Pooley 2022).
Research by Ram et al. (2022) sheds light on the
employment and economic ramifications of a global
energy shift. Their work critically evaluates the roles of
various sectors and value chains, with a special emphasis
on electric vehicle batteries, and contrasts these with the
traditional fossil fuel industry. Another significant strand
of research, led by Surana et al. (2023), focuses on the
role of public policy in fostering climate-tech startups.
Their investigation centers on how government policies
can not only encourage but also ensure responsible
private investments for the advancement of sustainable
technology and long-term decarbonization. Furthermore,
the work of Doblinger, Surana, and Anadon (2019) delves
into the direct interactions between governments and
startups, particularly in the cleantech sector. Their study
explores the influence of these interactions on various
facets such as innovation, technological development,
and the mobilization of private sector investments.
Theme 5: EV Pricing and Government
Incentives: New and Used Vehicle Markets
This theme focuses on the aordability of electric cars.
It involves the concern that while electric car prices are
expected to decrease with declining battery costs, the
current list prices of most electric cars are still relatively
high (Campbell 2022d). Additionally, there is a discussion
about the impact of removing exemptions from annual
car tax on the aordability of electric vehicles (Campbell
2022d). Some argue that this change could make electric
cars less aordable, especially in the second-hand
market, while others see it as a measure to make the
motoring tax system fairer (Campbell 2022d).
8Emerging Policy and Economic Research Priorities for Enabling the Electric Vehicle Sector
In terms of academic inquiry, Goetzel and Hasanuzzaman
(2022) delve into the trends in EV retail prices, probing
into the critical juncture at which EVs may achieve
purchase price parity with conventional vehicles across
diverse market segments. Complementing this, Tankou,
Lutsey, and Hall (2021) have extended the scope of
research to encompass the used ZEV market. Their
work sheds light on the current trends, technological
advancements, and policy implications that are vital for
comprehending and facilitating the growth of the used
ZEV sector. This includes an in-depth analysis of the
dynamics of pricing, durability of these vehicles, the role
of incentives, and the requisite charging infrastructure.
Theme 6: Challenges and Setbacks for EV
Startups
Media investigations in this theme center on the
challenges and setbacks faced by EV startup companies.
These challenges include issues related to capital
investments, supply chain disruptions, and financial
diculties, which can impact their ability to meet
production targets, form partnerships, and access
expected financial reserves (Campbell and Nilsson 2022;
Campbell 2022b; Bushey 2022).
A key domain of scholarly inquiry pertains to the
strategies that can enable these startups to penetrate
the automotive market eectively. Thomas and Maine’s
(2019) study on Tesla Motors oers crucial insights into
such market entry strategies, underscoring Tesla’s journey
as a case study for emerging enterprises in this domain.
Additionally, there is a focus on how startups in the
electric vehicle industry are crafting innovative business
models to establish a dominant market position, as
explored by Donada and Lepoutre (2016).
Theme 7: Price War and Competition in the
EV Market
The central theme here revolves around the competitive
landscape, market entry strategies, and pricing dynamics
in the global EV market, with a particular focus on
the roles of Chinese and European automakers. This
competition includes a “price war” in China in response to
its softening EV demand within an increasingly crowded
EV sector (Li and Nilsson 2022), as well as the entry of
Chinese car manufacturers like BYD, Great Wall, Nio,
Geely, and SAIC Motor into the European market with
electric and hybrid vehicle oerings (Campbell 2022a;
Kastner 2022). Executives of European automakers are
additionally concerned regarding the pricing tactics
employed by Chinese automakers, who may be inclined
to oer vehicles at a loss in order to secure a portion of
the European market (Campbell 2022a). In an eort to
prevent unfair competition, these executives urge the
European Union to contemplate protectionist measures
to safeguard local manufacturing by considering the
implementation of taris on automobiles imported from
China (Campbell 2022a).
A pivotal area of academic investigation, as noted by
Bown (2023b), revolves around the impact of protectionist
measures, exemplified by the U.S. “Inflation Reduction
Act,” on the EV supply chain. This inquiry not only
unravels the intricate political-economic challenges that
emerge in the context of U.S.-EU cooperation on clean
energy transition policies but also brings to the fore
the critical issue of balancing these regional strategies
against the backdrop of China’s burgeoning dominance in
the sector Bown (2023b).
Theme 8: Emerging Technologies in EV
Battery and Charging Solutions
Such reporting encompasses concerns related to the
financial viability and progress of companies developing
new EV technologies, including solid-state batteries
and software for electric car chargers. It highlights the
challenges faced by investors when companies, initially
hyped and well-funded, fail to deliver on their promises,
leading to significant declines in market value (Financial
Times 2022). Additionally, it touches upon the importance
of technological advancements in the EV sector, such as
software that enhances the eciency and interaction of
electric car chargers with both vehicles and the electrical
grid (Campbell 2022c).
Recent academic inquiries, including the work of Chen
et al. (2020), are centered on elucidating the challenges,
mechanisms, and design strategies essential for the
development of solid-state batteries that are both
practically accessible and stable. Studies, including those
by Sadeghian et al. (2022), provide a comprehensive
exploration of the multifaceted aspects of smart charging
for EVs. Their investigation focuses on identifying
eective solutions, strategies, and technologies that not
only meet the charging demands of EVs but also mitigate
their impact on the power grid.
9Emerging Policy and Economic Research Priorities for Enabling the Electric Vehicle Sector
Methods
In this work, we identify key research priorities for enabling the EV
sector. Specifically, we first derive overarching themes by summarizing
and categorizing the wide-ranging scope of recent media investigations
pertaining to the EV sector. The emerging themes were formulated by
performing a thematic clustering analysis of recent EV reporting from
October 2022 to December 2022 in the Financial Times (FT). We analyzed
all 77 FT articles published under their “Electric Vehicles” topic over a
three-month period. The analysis continued until an examination of the
subsequent 10 articles revealed no new distinct themes. Given the global
nature of the EV sector, FT’s global coverage, and our focus on questions
rather than findings, we use FT to sample recent media investigation
themes. Since our goal for this thematic analysis part is to identify key
themes by extracting a wide range of questions, the FT articles are
considered to provide a reasonable overview.
We start o with media reports as they frequently shed light
on nascent energy economics, policy, and sustainability
issues before they are thoroughly examined in scholarly
literature. This can be attributed to the delays inherent in
securing research funding and the time-consuming peer-
review process that characterizes academic publishing.
Furthermore, media reports frequently incorporate
perspectives from non-academic stakeholders, often
underrepresented in scholarly articles. Finally, we delineate
specific research challenges and priorities that require
more thorough consideration by applying an energy
economics and policy research lens (including academic
and industrial) on the formulated emerging themes.
We solicit expert opinions to prioritize the identified
research challenges. In particular, an electronic survey was
conducted by sending invitations to experts between June
and July 2023.3 Participants in the survey came from think
tanks and academia, including the University of California,
Davis, USA; Chalmers University, Sweden; Indian Institute
of Management (IIM), India; Rocky Mountain Institute
(RMI), USA; Gulf Research Center, KSA; Ajou University,
Korea; Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS) Pilani,
India; University of Maryland, USA, among others. The
participants were asked to evaluate the dierent research
challenges and opportunities outlined in the preceding
sections using a Likert-type (one to five) scale, assessing
their importance, novelty, and feasibility. The respondents
were also asked to rate the significance of each criterion
(i.e., importance, novelty, and feasibility, relative to one
another). Furthermore, data was gathered pertaining to the
professionals’ aliations with either non-profit or for-profit
entities, their educational credentials, years of experience
in the EV sector, and their level of familiarity with the
research subjects under examination in this survey.
The expert survey results were analyzed using a multi-
criteria decision-making (MCDM) framework. AHP (Analytic
Hierarchy Process) (Saaty 1988) was used to calculate the
weight scores for the three criteria – importance, novelty
and feasibility – by having respondents make a series
of pairwise comparisons. TOPSIS (Technique for Order
Preference by Similarity to the Ideal Solution) (Hwang
and Yoon 1981) was used to rank the dierent alternatives
based on their normalized scores – a measure of the extent
of similarity between alternatives and the hypothetical
ideal solution (with importance, novelty and feasibility
ratings of five each) – considering AHP-based criteria
10Emerging Policy and Economic Research Priorities for Enabling the Electric Vehicle Sector
weights. Given the subjective nature of the expert survey,
it would have been better to use AHP for both deriving
weights for criteria and ranking alternatives. From a time
perspective, however, requiring respondents to make
pairwise comparisons between 12 alternatives appeared
impractical. A sensitivity analysis was performed using
three dierent schemes to calculate the weighted average
of the ratings given by the experts for use in the TOPSIS
framework, including: (i) equal weighting, (ii) experience-
based weighting, and (iii) familiarity-based weighting.
The TOPSIS process includes Ramya and Devadas (2019);
Fancello, Carta, and Fadda (2019); Rane et al. (2023); and
Heidari et al. (2022):
Figure 1. Steps in the TOPSIS process.
Sources: Ramya and Devadas (2019); Fancello, Carta, and Fadda (2019); Rane et al. (2023); Heidari et al. (2022).
Step 1 •Construct a Decision Matrix
Step 2 •Normalize the Decision Matrix
Step 3 •Construct the Weighted Normalized Decision Matrix
Step 4 •Determine the Positive Ideal and Negative Ideal Solutions
Step 5 •Calculate the Separation Measures
Step 6 •Calculate the Relative Closeness to the Ideal Solution
Step 7 •Calculate the Relative Normalized Closeness to the Ideal Solution
Step 8 •Rank the Preference Order
11Emerging Policy and Economic Research Priorities for Enabling the Electric Vehicle Sector
1. Constructing decision matrix (Xmn)ij containing i
alternatives and j criteria, with the integration of each
criterion and alternative given as Xmn:
2. Using normalization method to normalize the
decision matrix:
!" =!"
$∑!"
#
$
!%&
, = 1,2,3…,; = 1,2,3…,
(1)
3. Constructing the weighted normalized matrix by
assigning a weight vector to the criteria group, where the
criteria weights are determined using the AHP approach
as outlined below:
!" =
"
!", = 1,2,3 … , ; = 1,2,3 … ,
(2)
4. Determine positive (A+) and negative ideal solution (A−):
!"
! #
! !$% $% &
(3)
!"
# $
# #%& %& #
(4)
5. Calculate the separation measure from both positive (Si+)
and negative (Si−) ideal alternative:
!
"
=#$%
!#
−
#
"
($
%
#&' ,=1,2…,;
(5)
!
"
=#$%
!#
−
#
$
(%
&
#'( ,=1,2…,;
(6)
6. Relative closeness to the ideal solution is calculated:
!
∗=!
#
!
$+ !
#, 0 < !
∗< 1
(7)
7. Using normalization method to normalize the closeness
to the ideal solution score.
_!
∗=!
∗
∑!
∗#
$
(8)
8. Preference order is ranked, the larger the value, the
better would be the performance of the alternative.
As described previously, the relative weights of criteria are
determined using AHP, which employs ratio scale factors
for pairwise comparison (Ruiz et al. 2020; Saaty 1996, 2001;
Marzouk, El-Maraghy, and Metawie 2023; Khojastehmehr,
Madani, and Daryasafar 2019; Manirambona, Talai, and
Kimutai 2022; Albert et al. 2016; Carrese, Petrelli, and
Renna 2022; Jbaihi et al. 2022). Specifically, we employ
a pairwise comparison matrix for three criteria with pair
relative significance ranks determined by a 9-point Likert
scale, from which the relative criteria weights were derived
using the standard AHP priority-matrix normalization
method (Saaty 1996) and the AHP priority calculator
introduced by Goepel (2018). Then, in order to check the
consistency of the pairwise scores, we have calculated the
consistency ratio, CR = CI/RI, where the consistency index
(CI) is defined by:
_!
∗=!
∗
∑!
∗#
$
(9)
with
�
!"#
the eigenvalue of the pairwise comparison
matrix and n the criteria number, where the random
consistency index values, RI, for the n values have been
considered from (Saaty 2001).
12Emerging Policy and Economic Research Priorities for Enabling the Electric Vehicle Sector
Results and
Discussion
In this section, we explicitly outline the specific research challenges that
demand further in-depth examination achieved by applying a comprehensive
energy economics and policy research perspective, encompassing both
academic and industrial viewpoints, to the identified emerging themes.
Following that, we present the results of the expert survey assessment that
prioritize the identified research challenges.
Emerging Research
Challenges
Theme 1: Governments’ Strategies to
Localize the EV Battery Supply Chain
A pivotal area of future research is the assessment of
the eectiveness of U.S. and European policies. This
investigation is critical in understanding their role in
diminishing dependence on external sources, particularly
China, for EV batteries. Such an analysis not only provides
insights into the success of these policies but also
illuminates their broader implications. This includes the
impact on domestic industry growth, where the focus
would be on evaluating how these strategies foster local
industry expansion and enhance competitiveness in a
global market. Additionally, it is imperative to examine the
repercussions these policies may have on international
trade relations.
Theme 2: EV Rollout Challenges – Rising
Raw Material Prices and Automakers’
Responses
A paramount emerging research challenge lies in
understanding how fluctuations in the prices of raw
materials could significantly influence the production
costs of batteries and EVs, thereby impacting EV sales
dynamics. Another area ripe for investigation is the eect
of car and battery manufacturers’ investment strategies
and partnerships throughout the supply chain. By
examining the intricate web of supply chain dependencies
and partnerships, researchers can shed light on how
these collaborative eorts might influence the economics
of raw material procurement
13Emerging Policy and Economic Research Priorities for Enabling the Electric Vehicle Sector
Theme 3: The Geopolitical Battle for
Control of Critical Metals for EVs
An emerging research challenge is the need for a
comprehensive cost-benefit analysis of the formation
of an OPEC-like group for battery metals. In addition
to examining the consequences for supply chain
stability and market prices, such an analysis could also
contemplate the possible alteration in market power
dynamics. Concurrently, there is a pressing need to
understand the impact of the surging demand for critical
metals on the economic growth and social welfare of
supplier countries.
Theme 4: Battery Start-ups and
Government Support
A pivotal emerging research challenge lies in
understanding the impact of government support in
attracting investments for bolstering the development and
competitiveness of the domestic battery industry. This
issue intertwines with the broader context of economic
strategy, where a cost-benefit analysis of government
support for domestic battery industry becomes
imperative, including implications for the long-term
economic growth potential.
Theme 5: EV Pricing and Government
Incentives – New and Used Vehicle Markets
An emerging research challenge lies in assessing whether
the prices of electric cars have decreased over time,
particularly in light of the declining costs of essential
components like batteries. This inquiry is pivotal in
determining the necessity of government subsidies going
forward, especially considering automakers’ recent EV
price wars. Complementing this, another significant area
of research is the eect of removing government financial
incentives, such as exemptions for EVs from annual car
taxes, on the used EV market.
Theme 6: Challenges and Setbacks for EV
Startups
One emerging area of research interest is the examination
of strategic choices made by these startups, which
includes an analysis of their diverse business models,
financing strategies, and approaches to collaboration.
Such an investigation is crucial in identifying the
factors that contribute to the success or failure of these
ventures in a highly competitive market. Additionally,
a critical challenge for EV startups lies in scaling-up
production while eciently managing global supply
chains. This aspect requires a detailed inquiry into
how these companies navigate the intricacies of large-
scale manufacturing and the logistical demands of a
global market.
Theme 7: Price War and Competition in the
EV Market
A key emerging area of research is the intensification
of automakers’ price wars aimed at increasing their EV
market share in existing regions, coupled with strategic
decisions to enter new markets. This aggressive
competition raises questions about the long-term
sustainability of such pricing strategies and the
implications for global market dynamics. Equally important
is the consideration of import taris designed to protect
local automotive industries from the influx of foreign
brands, particularly Chinese. The likelihood of such
protective measures being adopted, their potential impact
on the international trade and market equilibrium, and
the possible backlash from China constitute critical areas
for investigation.
Theme 8: Emerging Technologies in EV
Battery and Charging Solutions
The development and scaling of advanced battery
technologies for use in EVs represent a crucial emerging
frontier, including the technological aspects of battery
innovation. The second pivotal area lies in the potential
for software and other technological solutions to optimize
the use of EV charging infrastructure. This involves a
multifaceted approach, where the focus is not just on
enhancing the eciency of charging systems but also on
their seamless integration with renewable energy sources
and the electrical grid.
Although the research priorities identified in this
manuscript are derived from a global perspective,
regional variations may influence their applicability due to
dierences in policy, economic conditions, technological
adoption rates, and market maturity. For instance, the
impact of U.S. and European policies on the domestic
EV battery industry might dier significantly from those
in Asian markets like China and India, where government
incentives and supply chain dynamics vary. It is crucial for
future studies to consider these regional dierences to
tailor strategies that address localized needs eectively.
14Emerging Policy and Economic Research Priorities for Enabling the Electric Vehicle Sector
At 20.2%, feasibility received the lowest weightage
among the three criteria. This suggests that while the
practicality of implementing or realizing a research topic
is considered, it is not the primary driving factor for
the experts.
Overall, the derived weights oer insights into the
prioritization mindset of the experts. Importance to
enabling the EV sector took precedence, underscoring
its foundational role in decision-making. Meanwhile,
while novelty and feasibility are considered, they play a
supplementary role in the overall evaluation.
Furthermore, the consistency of the pairwise comparison
matrix was assessed to ensure the reliability and validity
of the results. The consistency ratio (CR), based on
equation 9, was computed to be 8.2%. As a rule of
thumb, a CR value below 10% is considered acceptable
and indicates a reasonable level of consistency in the
respondents’ evaluations.
Expert Survey-Based
Prioritization
Among the 19 participants,4 16 represented non-profit organizations while
the remaining respondents were aliated with for-profit entities. In terms of
education qualifications, 13 people possessed a doctoral degree, five held
a master’s degree, and one had a bachelor’s degree or lower. Regarding
the duration of expertise possessed by professionals in the EV sector, a
majority– over 50% of the participants – reported having accumulated 10
years of experience. On a scale ranging from 1 (very low familiarity) to 5 (very
high familiarity), experts rated their familiarity with the research challenges
examined in this survey as 3.21 on average. When asked to select all EV-
related areas from their current and past work, 15 experts chose policy, 11
chose technology, 6 chose fuels, and 5 chose infrastructure.
We first determine the relative significance of three
distinct criteria: importance in enabling the EV sector,
novelty, and feasibility. Leveraging the AHP approach, we
gathered insights from experts who performed pairwise
comparisons among the mentioned criteria. The results
from the AHP analysis, as shown in Figure 2, reveal the
following weights for each criterion.
Importance was deemed the most critical factor, capturing
a weight of 58.8%. The high weightage suggests that,
among the three criteria, the perceived importance of a
research challenge in enabling the EV sector played a
paramount role in its prioritization by the respondents.
With a weight of 21.0%, novelty emerges as the
second most valued criterion. This indicates that while
respondents value innovative research topics, the novelty
of a topic is secondary to its overall importance in the
context of the EV sector.
15Emerging Policy and Economic Research Priorities for Enabling the Electric Vehicle Sector
Figure 2. AHP-derived weights for the three criteria – importance in enabling the EV sector, novelty, and feasibility –
determined based on the pairwise comparisons provided by the experts.
Source: KAPSARC analysis.
Importance
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Novelty Feasibility
16Emerging Policy and Economic Research Priorities for Enabling the Electric Vehicle Sector
Table 1. The decision matrix-TOPSIS, and relative closeness to the ideal solution scores for the case of equal weighting
for all respondents.
Source: KAPSARC analysis.
Normalized decision matrix Importance Novelty Feasibility
Alt-1 0.38 0.38 0.33
Alt-2 0.37 0.34 0.36
Alt-3 0.36 0.35 0.31
Alt-4 0.34 0.33 0.36
Alt-5 0.35 0.35 0.39
Alt-6 0.33 0.37 0.33
Alt-7 0.34 0.33 0.39
Alt-8 0.35 0.36 0.33
Weighted normalized
decision matrix
Importance Novelty Feasibility Si+ Si− Ci*
Alt-1 0.22 0.08 0.07 0.012 0.028 0.71
Alt-2 0.22 0.07 0.07 0.011 0.024 0.67
Alt-3 0.21 0.07 0.06 0.021 0.016 0.43
Alt-4 0.20 0.07 0.07 0.024 0.013 0.35
Alt-5 0.21 0.07 0.08 0.017 0.021 0.55
Alt-6 0.20 0.08 0.07 0.028 0.010 0.27
Alt-7 0.20 0.07 0.08 0.023 0.018 0.44
Alt-8 0.21 0.08 0.07 0.020 0.013 0.40
A+ 0.22 0.08 0.08
A- 0.20 0.07 0.06
In an endeavor to prioritize the identified emerging
research challenges within the realm of the EV sector,
we employed the Technique for Order of Preference
by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) approach on
the survey data. This multicriteria decision-making
method facilitated the ranking of research alternatives
by assessing their closeness to an ideal solution. We
begin by normalizing the respondents’ ratings for the
dierent alternatives on the three criteria, as shown in
Table 1, followed by calculating the positive ideal solution,
negative ideal solution and relative closeness to the ideal
solution Ci*, further reported in Table 1.
17Emerging Policy and Economic Research Priorities for Enabling the Electric Vehicle Sector
• Analyzing the influence of raw material prices on the
cost of battery and EV production, and examining
how this impacts EV sales, while also assessing
the eect of car and battery makers’ investment
strategies and partnerships on the costs of securing
these raw materials.
• Evaluate whether the reduction in electric car
prices over time, influenced by falling battery costs
and competitive pricing among automakers, still
necessitates government subsidies, and examine the
implications of removing these subsidies on the used
electric vehicle market.
Among the various respondent weighting schemes
employed within the AHP-TOPSIS framework, the
following issues were found to have relatively low
rankings:
• Examining the strategic choices and challenges
faced by EV startups, encompassing their business
models, financing strategies, collaboration tactics, as
well as the issues related to scaling-up production
and managing global supply chains.
Across the three distinct respondent weighting schemes
within the AHP-TOPSIS framework, the following issues
exhibited significantly divergent rankings:
• Analysis of the impact of critical metal demand on
supplier countries’ economic growth and social
welfare, along with a cost-benefit analysis of these
countries forming an OPEC-like group for battery
metals, examining the implications for prices, supply
chain stability, and market power.
Sensitivity Analysis
To account for sensitivity, we considered three unique respondent rating
aggregation schemes for the TOPSIS analysis: (i) equal weighting – all
respondents were given equal weight; (ii) experience-based weighting
– weighting was determined based on the respondents’ experience; (iii)
familiarity-based weighting – weighting was attributed according to the
respondents’ familiarity with the topics.
The resultant normalized TOPSIS scores (norm_Ci*
in equation 8), representing the closeness of each
alternative to the ideal solution under the three
aggregation schemes, are shown in Figure 3 (a and b).
Furthermore, based on the normalized TOPSIS scores,
we ranked the research alternatives, with the alternative
closest to the ideal solution ranked first. Table 2 displays
the corresponding rankings for the dierent alternatives
based on the normalized TOPSIS scores, along with
the sensitivities of these rankings to the chosen
weighing scheme.
These rankings present a hierarchical understanding
of the alternatives’ significance as perceived by the
respondents. Interestingly, while certain alternatives
consistently ranked high or low across the three
aggregation schemes, some displayed variability,
underscoring the influence of respondent weighting on
the outcome. Overall, the results are fairly robust as 3 out
of 8 alternatives encounter a maximum change of two
ranks across three weighting schemes.
Across the three distinct respondent weighting schemes
within the AHP-TOPSIS framework, the following
emerging issues ranked among the highest considering
importance in enabling the EV sector, novelty and
feasibility aspects:
• Analyzing the eectiveness of U.S. and European
policies in decreasing dependence on China for
EV batteries and their eects on the growth and
competitiveness of the domestic battery industry, as
well as international trade relations.
18Emerging Policy and Economic Research Priorities for Enabling the Electric Vehicle Sector
• The dynamics and consequences of automakers
engaging in price wars to expand their electric
vehicle (EV) market share in existing regions and
their strategies to enter new markets, in conjunction
with the likelihood, impact, and potential backlash
of countries imposing import taris to protect their
local automotive industries from foreign competition,
especially from Chinese brands.
Figure 3. (a) Normalized TOPSIS scores for potential research alternatives considering 3 cases of: (1) equal weights
for all respondents, (2) respondent experience-based weights, (3) respondent familiarity-based weights, and (b) bars
representing variation across the three weighting schemes.
Source: KAPSARC analysis.
19Emerging Policy and Economic Research Priorities for Enabling the Electric Vehicle Sector
Table 2. Expert ratings-based ranking of potential research challenges, considering three cases: (a) equal weights, (b)
respondent experience-based weights, and (c) respondent familiarity-based weights. The rankings were obtained using
the combined AHP-TOPSIS approach.
Source: KAPSARC analysis.
Alternatives Equal
weights
Experience-based
weights
Familiarity-based
weights
Alt-1: Governments’ Strategies to Localize the EV Battery Supply
Chain
• Assessing the eectiveness of U.S. and European policies in
reducing reliance on China for EV batteries
• Impact on domestic industry growth, competitiveness, and
international trade relations
1 2 1
Alt-2: EV Rollout Challenges: Rising Raw Material Prices and
Automakers’ Responses
• How raw material prices could aect the cost of battery and EV
production and correspondingly EV sales
• Impact of car and battery makers’ investment plans and
partnerships across the entire supply chain on costs of secured
raw materials
2 1 2
Alt-3: The Geopolitical Battle for Control of Critical Metals for EVs
• Cost-benefit analysis of OPEC-like group formation for battery
metals, including impact on prices, supply chain stability, and
market power
• Impact of critical metal demand on supplier countries’ economic
growth and social welfare
5 3 6
Alt-4: Battery Startups and Government Support
• Impact of governments’ support in attracting investment for
developing domestic battery industry and its competitiveness
• Cost-benefit analysis of government funding for domestic battery
industry including economic growth potential
7 5 5
Alt-5: EV Pricing and Government Incentives: New and Used
Vehicle Markets
• Have electric car prices fallen over time and do they still need
government subsidies, especially with falling battery prices and EV
price war among automakers?
• Impact on used car EV market of removing government financial
incentives, such as exemption for EVs from annual car tax
3 4 3
Alt-6: Challenges and Setbacks for EV Startups
• Studying the strategic choices by EV startups, including their
business models, financing strategies, collaboration strategies
• Investigating challenges for Startups related to scaling-up
production and managing global supply chains
8 8 8
Alt-7: Price War and Competition in the EV Market
• Automakers’ price wars to increase EV market share in existing
regions and decisions to enter new ones
• Import taris to protect local automotive industry from foreign
brands, particularly Chinese: Likelihood, impact and potential
backlash
4 6 4
Alt-8: Emerging Technologies in EV Battery and Charging Solutions
• Challenges and opportunities of developing and scaling advanced
battery technologies for use in EVs
• Potential for software and other technologies to optimize EV
charging infrastructure use and integration with renewable energy
sources and the grid.
6 7 7
20Emerging Policy and Economic Research Priorities for Enabling the Electric Vehicle Sector
Conclusion
This work systematically explores the multifaceted challenges and emerging
research priorities pivotal for enabling the EV sector. By delving into diverse
themes, it provides a comprehensive analysis of the current state and future
directions of research.
By employing three distinct respondent weighting
schemes within the AHP-TOPSIS framework, we identify
key emerging issues in enabling the EV sector that are
critical in terms of importance, novelty, and feasibility.
The high-ranking research challenges that merit in-depth
exploration include (i) U.S. and European policies impact
on EV battery industry and trade relations; (ii) rising
metal prices’ impact on battery and EV markets; (iii) EV
price trends and whether government subsidies are still
needed given falling battery costs and EV price war
among automakers.
While this study oers a broad overview of the issues
at hand, it acknowledges certain limitations. The rapidly
evolving nature of emerging issues in the EV sector
implies that findings might require continual updates.
In addition, it is possible that there may be blind spots
or specific issues that have not yet been reported in
the media, and thus remain unaddressed in this work.
Furthermore, the process of transforming contemporary
issues into emerging research prospects is inherently
subjective, which suggests that alternative perspectives
could lead to the identification of distinct emerging
research opportunities related to these issues. Moreover,
the reliance on expert inputs, although valuable, may
not fully capture the diversity of perspectives in this
global industry.
This work contributes to the field by oering a structured
framework to analyze and prioritize research areas in
the EV sector. It bridges the gap between academic
discourse and practical application. In particular, the
delineated priorities could serve as a potential roadmap
for guiding forthcoming research endeavors within both
the industrial and academic domains. Research findings
from such initiatives may yield practical recommendations
for policymakers and industry stakeholders, consequently
fostering the formulation of strategies aimed at expediting
the emergence of a resilient EV sector. In conclusion, the
emerging issues identified through journalistic reports, a
review of published literature, and expert consultations
provide a solid foundation for identifying the imperative
research priorities required to facilitate a robust EV sector.
21Emerging Policy and Economic Research Priorities for Enabling the Electric Vehicle Sector
Endnotes
1 Briefly, these themes were identified through a thematic clustering analysis performed on news media articles. The methods section
provides an explanation of how the clustered themes are derived. However, it is important to acknowledge that the themes identified
in this analysis do not encompass all issues related to passenger electrification. There may be blind spots or specific issues that have
not yet been reported in the media, and thus remain unaddressed in this work.
2 “Friend-shoring” refers to the practice of strategically diversifying supply chains by relying more on allies and friendly nations for
critical resources, aiming to reduce dependence on potentially adversarial or unreliable sources. It involves fostering closer economic
relationships with trusted partners to enhance supply chain resilience. This term is used in the context of supply chain security and
geopolitical considerations.
3 The rationale for selecting these particular experts was based on their extensive experience in the policy and economic dimensions
of passenger car electrification research. Moreover, the views of non-academic stakeholders were already substantially represented,
as the research questions were based on contemporary issues frequently reported in the media, where non-academic perspectives
are often highlighted. Consequently, there was a strategic focus on engaging academic stakeholders more intensively. Invitations
were also extended to experts from policymaking institutes. Some of these experts did respond but requested that their identities
and the names of their institutions remain anonymous; therefore, these details have not been disclosed.
4 The sample size of 19 experts, while relatively small, is not uncommon in the literature on expert surveys (James et al. 2022; Hulme
et al. 2023; Gleser and Elbert 2024; Robison et al. 2023; Moro et al. 2018).
22Emerging Policy and Economic Research Priorities for Enabling the Electric Vehicle Sector
References
Albert, Gila, Oren Musicant, Ilit Oppenheim, and Tsippy
Lotan. 2016. “Which Smartphone’s Apps May Contribute
to Road Safety? An AHP Model to Evaluate Experts’
Opinions.” Transport Policy 50 (August): 54–62. https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2016.06.004.
Albertsen, Levke, Jessika Luth Richter, Philip Peck, Carl
Dalhammar, and Andrius Plepys. 2021. “Circular Business
Models for Electric Vehicle Lithium-Ion Batteries: An
Analysis of Current Practices of Vehicle Manufacturers
and Policies in the EU.” Resources, Conservation
and Recycling 172 (September): 105658. https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2021.105658.
Beattie, Alan. 2022. “The Go-Slow Gambit
on Biden’s Car Subsidies.” The Financial
Times, December 5. https://www.ft.com/
content/149a5dae-8eb4-46e3-ad9a-2ac5380a3f33.
Bounds, Andy. 2022. “Carmakers Warn on EU
Taris Threat to Electric Vehicle Prices.” The
Financial Times, December 6. https://www.ft.com/
content/3ce34199-8e0f-487e-b603-03e47b5559e9.
Bown, Chad P. 2023a. “How the United States Solved
South Korea’s Problems with Electric Vehicle Subsidies
under the Inflation Reduction Act.” Peterson Institute for
International Economics Working Paper (23-6).
Bown, Chad P. 2023b. “Industrial Policy for Electric
Vehicle Supply Chains and the US-EU Fight over the
Inflation Reduction Act.” Peterson Institute for International
Economics. Accessed January 23. https://www.piie.com/
sites/default/files/2023-05/wp23-1.pdf.
Bushey, Claire. 2022. “Electric Truck Maker Rivian
Warns Supply Chain Problems Will Persist.” The
Financial Times, November 10. https://www.ft.com/
content/3b4bc135-b4a5-41eb-8042-1aede0ca1bd4.
Bushey, Claire, and Aime Williams. 2023. “US Aims to
Dramatically Expand EV Fleets with Tough New Emissions
Rule.” The Financial Times, April 12. https://www.ft.com/
content/5ac09cc2-e221-426d-b017-6fc589547c5c.
Bushey, Claire, and Christopher Grimes. 2022. “California
Climate Rule to Halt Sale of New Petrol Cars by 2035.”
The Financial Times, August 25. https://www.ft.com/
content/aba0a2f6-e276-4cfe-8022-6d2378781263.
Bushey, Claire, and Harry Dempsey. 2022. “General
Motors Predicts Profits from EV Business in 2025.”
The Financial Times, November 17. https://www.ft.com/
content/72c6145d-ebe2-4dc9-bd3f-c3b84f3a4cb9.
Campbell, Peter. 2022a. “Chinese Electric
Carmakers Take on Europe.” The Financial
Times, October 26. https://www.ft.com/
content/25b4bb0c-f149-4858-a74d-2531698fd35e.
Campbell, Peter. 2022b. “EV Start-Up Arrival
to Cut UK Jobs in Production Shift to US.” The
Financial Times, October 20. https://www.ft.com/
content/5278ba4a-49c0-4e99-bed1-68adfa658c62.
Campbell, Peter. 2022c. “Ev.energy Wants to
Be the ‘Android’ of Electric Car Charging.” The
Financial Times, November 20. https://www.ft.com/
content/6c785c16-b8c2-4d25-8f54-e0ea9b5ccb12.
Campbell, Peter. 2022d. “UK Electric Vehicle
Owners to Pay Car Tax from 2025.” The Financial
Times, November 17. https://www.ft.com/
content/96b69444-b010-4029-9389-b447836d1aca.
Campbell, Peter, and Patricia Nilsson. 2022. “Rivian Halts
Plan for European Electric Van Plant with Mercedes-Benz.”
The Financial Times, December 12. https://www.ft.com/
content/1cace03a-3c5e-47f3-a903-59937657eac8.
Campbell, Peter, Edward White, Gloria Li, and Patricia
Nilsson. 2023. “The Chinese Carmakers Planning
to Shake Up the European Market.” The Financial
Times, December 12. https://www.ft.com/content/
fddc1c5b-7494-4f0c-94cd-0409d7e9df70.
California Air Resources Board. 2022. “California Moves
to Accelerate to 100% New Zero-Emission Vehicle Sales
by 2035.” https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/news/california-moves-
accelerate-100-new-zero-emission-vehicle-sales-2035.
23Emerging Policy and Economic Research Priorities for Enabling the Electric Vehicle Sector
Carrese, Stefano, Marco Petrelli, and Alessandra
Renna. 2022. “A New Approach for the Identification of
Strategic Italian Ports for Container Trac.” Transport
Policy 120 (May): 47–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
tranpol.2022.03.005.
Chen, Rusong, Qinghao Li, Xiqian Yu, Liquan Chen, and
Hong Li. 2020. “Approaching Practically Accessible
Solid-State Batteries: Stability Issues Related to Solid
Electrolytes and Interfaces.” Chemical Reviews 120 (14):
6820–6877. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemrev.9b00268.
Council of the European Union. 2023. “‘Fit for 55’: Council
Adopts Regulation on CO2 Emissions for New Cars and
Vans.” https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-
releases/2023/03/28/fit-for-55-council-adopts-regulation-
on-co2-emissions-for-new-cars-and-vans/.
Dempsey, Harry. 2022. “Electric Car Battery Prices Rise
for First Time in More than a Decade.” The Financial
Times, December 6. https://www.ft.com/content/
f6c409d3-a29b-48f8-9f17-5586a1963d16.
Dempsey, Harry, and Mercedes Ruehl. 2022. “Indonesia
Considers Opec-Style Cartel for Battery Metals.” The
Financial Times, October 30. https://www.ft.com/
content/0990f663-19ae-4744-828f-1bd659697468.
Dempsey, Harry, and Jennifer Williams. 2022. “Lithium
Groups Choose Teesside in Boost for UK Battery
Industry.” The Financial Times, November 6. https://www.
ft.com/content/e30b1df7-5b74-441f-ba64-9fef1b2ea078.
Doblinger, Claudia, Kavita Surana, and Laura Diaz Anadon.
2019. “Governments as Partners: The Role of Alliances in
U.S. Cleantech Startup Innovation.” Research Policy 48 (6):
1458–1475. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2019.02.006.
Donada, Carole, and Jan Lepoutre. 2016. “How Can
Startups Create the Conditions for a Dominant Position in
the Nascent Industry of Electromobility 2.0?” International
Journal of Automotive Technology and Management 16
(1): 11–29.
Fancello, Gianfranco, Michele Carta, and Paolo Fadda.
2019. “Road Intersections Ranking for Road Safety
Improvement: Comparative Analysis of Multi-Criteria
Decision Making Methods.” Transport Policy 800 (August):
188–196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2018.04.007.
Financial Times. 2022. “Blue Sky Thinking: Quantum
Batteries Would Be Big Leap Forward for EVs.” The
Financial Times, December 29. https://www.ft.com/
content/157f45ee-bb03-439f-bc1b-ccdd74628732.
Gleser, Michael, and Ralf Elbert. 2024. “Combined
Rail-Road Transport in Europe – A Practice-Oriented
Research Agenda.” Research in Transportation Business
& Management 53 (March): 101101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
rtbm.2024.101101.
Goepel, Klaus D. 2018. “Implementation of an Online
Software Tool for the Analytic Hierarchy Process
(AHP-OS).” International Journal of the Analytic Hierarchy
Process 10 (3). https://doi.org/10.13033/ijahp.v10i3.590.
Goetzel, Nico, and M. Hasanuzzaman. 2022. “An Empirical
Analysis of Electric Vehicle Cost Trends: A Case Study
in Germany.” Research in Transportation Business &
Management 43 (June): 100825. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
rtbm.2022.100825.
Graham, Thomas. 2022. “Chinese and Russian
Companies Dominate in Race to Tap Bolivia’s Lithium.”
The Financial Times, October 16. https://www.ft.com/
content/7c12bb7e-26fe-49b3-939f-376cc1ee76e2.
Hancock, Alice, Laura Dubois, and Andy Bounds.
2023. “Brussels Agrees Deal with Germany
in Spat over Combustion Engines Ban.” The
Financial Times, March 25. https://www.ft.com/
content/64e9acf7-985e-4c80-8a7d-5c195398637b.
Heidari, Ava, Hamid Boleydei, Abbas Rohani, Hangyong
Ray Lu, and Habibollah Younesi. 2022. “Integrating Life
Cycle Assessment and Life Cycle Costing Using TOPSIS
to Select Sustainable Biomass-Based Carbonaceous
Adsorbents for CO2 Capture.” Journal of Cleaner
Production 357 (July): 131968. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
jclepro.2022.131968.
Hulme, Philip E., Jacqueline R. Beggs, Rachelle N. Binny,
Jonathan P. Bray, Naomi Cogger, Manpreet K. Dhami,
Susanna C. Finlay-Smits, Nigel P. French, Andrea Grant,
Chad L. Hewitt, Eirian E. Jones, Phil J. Lester, and Peter
J. Lockhart. 2023. “Emerging Advances in Biosecurity to
Underpin Human, Animal, Plant, and Ecosystem Health.”
iScience 26 (9). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2023.107462.
24Emerging Policy and Economic Research Priorities for Enabling the Electric Vehicle Sector
Hwang, Ching-Lai, and Kwangsun Yoon. 1981.
“Methods for Multiple Attribute Decision Making.”
In Multiple Attribute Decision Making: Methods
and Applications a State-of-the-Art Survey, vol 186,
58–191. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer. https://doi.
org/10.1007/978-3-642-48318-9_3.
International Council on Clean Transportation. 2021. “The
Second Phase of China’s New Energy Vehicle Mandate
Policy for Passenger Cars.” https://theicct.org/wp-content/
uploads/2021/06/china-new-energy-vehicle-mandate-
phase2-may2021.pdf.
James, Ajith Tom, Girish Kumar, Aman Pundhir,
Saurabh Tiwari, Rubal Sharma, and Jasmin James.
2022. “Identification and Evaluation of Barriers in
Implementation of Electric Mobility in India.” Research
in Transportation Business & Management 43 (June):
100757. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rtbm.2021.100757.
Jbaihi, Ouafae, Fatima-zahra Ouchani, Ahmed Alami
Merrouni, Mohamed Cherkaoui, Abdellatif Ghennioui,
and Mohammed Maaroufi. 2022. “An AHP-GIS Based Site
Suitability Analysis for Integrating Large-Scale Hybrid
CSP+PV Plants in Morocco: An Approach to Address
the Intermittency of Solar Energy.” Journal of Cleaner
Production 369 (October): 133250. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
jclepro.2022.133250.
Kastner, Jens. 2022. “Chinese Carmakers Take
Another Crack at the German Market.” The
Financial Times, October 19. https://www.ft.com/
content/791720d0-df91-4973-99cc-e847a8caab39.
Khojastehmehr, Mohsen, Mohammad Madani, and Amin
Daryasafar. 2019. “Screening of Enhanced Oil Recovery
Techniques for Iranian Oil Reservoirs Using TOPSIS
Algorithm.” Energy Reports 5 (November): 529–544.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2019.04.011.
Kleimann, David, Niclas Poitiers, André Sapir, Simone
Tagliapietra, Nicolas Véron, Reinhilde Veugelers, and
Jeromin Zettelmeyer. 2023. “Green Tech Race? The US
Inflation Reduction Act and the EU Net Zero Industry
Act.” The World Economy, August 7. https://doi.org/10.1111/
twec.13469.
Laing, Keith. 2023. “A Year After IRA, EVs Are Making
Fitful Progress in the US.” Bloomberg, August 16. https://
news.bloombergtax.com/daily-tax-report/a-year-after-ira-
electric-vehicle-market-shows-fitful-progress.
Li, Gloria, and Patricia Nilsson. 2022. “Mercedes-Benz
Follows Tesla and Cuts EV Prices in China.” The Financial
Times, November 16. https://www.ft.com/content/
d5781c37-ee16-4ef5-94a9-b77a251aaadb.
Liu, Lanjian, Tian Zhang, Anne-Perrine Avrin, and Xianwen
Wang. 2020. “Is China’s Industrial Policy Eective? An
Empirical Study of the New Energy Vehicles Industry.”
Technology in Society 63 (November): 101356. https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2020.101356.
Månberger, André, and Bengt Johansson. 2019. “The
Geopolitics of Metals and Metalloids Used for the
Renewable Energy Transition.” Energy Strategy Reviews
26 (November): 100394. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
esr.2019.100394.
Mancheri, Nabeel A. 2015. “World Trade in Rare Earths,
Chinese Export Restrictions, and Implications.” Resources
Policy 46, Part 2 (December): 262–271. https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2015.10.009.
Manirambona, Egide, Stephen M. Talai, and Stephen
K. Kimutai. 2022. “Sustainability Evaluation of Power
Generation Technologies Using Multi-Criteria Decision
Making: The Kenyan Case.” Energy Reports 8 (November):
14901–14914. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2022.11.055.
Marzouk, Mohamed, Maryam El-Maraghy, and Mahmoud
Metawie. 2023. “Assessing Retrofit Strategies for Mosque
Buildings Using TOPSIS.” Energy Reports 9 (December):
1397–1414. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2022.12.073.
Meckling, Jonas, and Jonas Nahm. 2019. “The Politics of
Technology Bans: Industrial Policy Competition and Green
Goals for the Auto Industry.” Energy Policy 126 (March):
470–479. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2018.11.031.
Moro, Alberto, Elisa Boelman, Geraldine Joanny, and Juan
Lopez Garcia. 2018. “A Bibliometric-Based Technique
to Identify Emerging Photovoltaic Technologies in
a Comparative Assessment with Expert Review.”
Renewable Energy 123 (August): 407–416. https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.renene.2018.02.016.
Ram, Manish, Juan Carlos Osorio-Aravena, Arman
Aghahosseini, Dmitrii Bogdanov, and Christian Breyer.
2022. “Job Creation During a Climate Compliant
Global Energy Transition Across the Power, Heat,
Transport, and Desalination Sectors by 2050.” Energy
238, Part A (January): 121690. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
energy.2021.121690.
25Emerging Policy and Economic Research Priorities for Enabling the Electric Vehicle Sector
Ramya, Sakkeri, and V. Devadas. 2019. “Integration of
GIS, AHP and TOPSIS in Evaluating Suitable Locations for
Industrial Development: A Case of Tehri Garhwal District,
Uttarakhand, India.” Journal of Cleaner Production
238 (November): 117872. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
jclepro.2019.117872.
Rane, Nitin Liladhar, Anand Achari, Saurabh Purushottam
Choudhary, Suraj Kumar Mallick, Chaitanya B. Pande,
Aman Srivastava, and Kanak N. Moharir. 2023. “A Decision
Framework for Potential Dam Site Selection Using GIS,
MIF and TOPSIS in Ulhas River Basin, India.” Journal of
Cleaner Production 423 (October): 138890. https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.138890.
Robison, Rosie, Tomas Moe Skjølsvold, Tom Hargreaves,
Sara Renström, Maarten Wolsink, Emily Judson, Viera
Pechancová, Melike Demirbağ-Kaplan, Hug March,
Johanna Lehne, Chris Foulds, Zareen Bharucha, Liliia
Bilous, Christian Büscher, Giuseppe Carrus, Sarah Darby,
Sylvie Douzou, Mojca Drevenšek, Bohumil Frantál, Ângela
Guimarães Pereira, Andrew Karvonen, Cecilia Katze,
Maria Kola-Bezka, Senja Laakso, Gudrun Lettmayer, Yael
Parag, Fanni Sáfián, Mariusz Swora, Lise Tjørring, Ellen
van der Wer, Bas van Vliet, Grégoire Wallenborn, and
Annemie Wyckmans. 2023. “Shifts in the Smart Research
Agenda? 100 Priority Questions to Accelerate Sustainable
Energy Futures.” Journal of Cleaner Production
419 (September): 137946. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
jclepro.2023.137946.
Ruiz, H. S., A. Sunarso, K. Ibrahim-Bathis, S. A. Murti,
and I. Budiarto. 2020. “GIS-AHP Multi Criteria Decision
Analysis for the Optimal Location of Solar Energy Plants
at Indonesia.” Energy Reports 6 (November): 3249–3263.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2020.11.198.
Rutter Pooley, Cat. 2022. “Britishvolt: the UK’s
EV Strategy Can’t Run on Fumes.” The Financial
Times, November 2. https://www.ft.com/content/
d01b91d2-d1bb-4d74-93ed-0fd2cae8d232.
Sadeghian, Omid, Arman Oshnoei, Behnam Mohammadi-
ivatloo, Vahid Vahidinasab, and Amjad Anvari-
Moghaddam. 2022. “A Comprehensive Review on
Electric Vehicles Smart Charging: Solutions, Strategies,
Technologies, and Challenges.” Journal of Energy
Storage 54 (October): 105241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
est.2022.105241.
Saaty, Thomas L. 1988. “What Is the Analytic Hierarchy
Process?” In G. Mitra, H.J. Greenberg, F.A. Lootsma,
M.J. Rijkaert, and H.J. Zimmermann (eds) Mathematical
Models for Decision Support. NATO ASI Series,
vol 48. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.
org/10.1007/978-3-642-83555-1_5.
Saaty, Thomas L. 1996. Multicriteria Decision Making: The
Analytic Hierarchy Process. Pittsburgh: RWS Publications.
Saaty, Thomas L. 2001. Decision Making for Leaders: The
Analytic Hierarchy Process for Decisions in a Complex
World. Pittsburgh: RWS Publications.
Surana, Kavita, Morgan R. Edwards, Kathleen M. Kennedy,
Maria A. Borrero, Leon Clarke, Rachel Fedorchak,
Nathan E. Hultman, Haewon McJeon, Zachary H.
Thomas, and Ellen D. Williams. 2023. “The Role of
Corporate Investment in Start-Ups for Climate-Tech
Innovation.” Joule 7 (4): 611–618. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
joule.2023.02.017.
Tankou, Alexander, Nic Lutsey, and Dale Hall. 2021.
“Understanding and Supporting the Used Zero-Emission
Vehicle Market.” The International Council on Clean
Transportation. https://zevalliance.org/wp-content/
uploads/2021/12/ZEVA-used-EVs-white-paper-v2.pdf.
Thomas, V. J., and Elicia Maine. 2019. “Market Entry
Strategies for Electric Vehicle Start-Ups in the Automotive
Industry – Lessons from Tesla Motors.” Journal of
Cleaner Production 235 (October): 653–663. https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.06.284.
Trost, Jenna N., and Jennifer B. Dunn. 2023. “Assessing
the Feasibility of the Inflation Reduction Act’s EV Critical
Mineral Targets.” Nature Sustainability 6: 639–643.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-023-01079-8.
Vivoda, Vlado. 2023. “Friend-Shoring and Critical
Minerals: Exploring the Role of the Minerals Security
Partnership.” Energy Research & Social Science 100
(June): 103085. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2023.103085.
Wang, Hetong, Kuishuang Feng, Peng Wang, Yuyao Yang,
Laixiang Sun, Fan Yang, Wei-Qiang Chen, Yiyi Zhang, and
Jiashuo Li. 2023. “China’s Electric Vehicle and Climate
Ambitions Jeopardized by Surging Critical Material
Prices.” Nature Communications 14 (March): 1246. https://
doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-36957-4.
26Emerging Policy and Economic Research Priorities for Enabling the Electric Vehicle Sector
White, Edward, and Peter Campbell. 2023.
“China’s Carmakers Outstrip Foreign Brands
in Its Electric Vehicle Boom.” The Financial
Times, January 16. https://www.ft.com/content/
dd149923-1c5d-4e5e-8be6-d979aa48aa33.
White, Edward, and Leo Lewis. 2022. “West Could End
Reliance on Chinese Batteries by 2030, Says Goldman.”
The Financial Times, November 21. https://www.ft.com/
content/458ebaf3-c1ee-499c-b7f3-2e5d7f1bb6df.
Yang, Hong, and Lewis Fulton. 2023. “Decoding US
Investments for Future Battery and Electric Vehicle
Production.” Transportation Research Part D: Transport
and Environment 118 (May): 103693. https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.trd.2023.103693.
27Emerging Policy and Economic Research Priorities for Enabling the Electric Vehicle Sector
Notes
28Emerging Policy and Economic Research Priorities for Enabling the Electric Vehicle Sector
Rubal Dua
Rubal Dua, a Principal Fellow at KAPSARC, is actively engaged in exploring emerging challenges
and priorities in sectors that critically influence transportation and infrastructure, viewed through
the lens of energy economics, policy, and sustainability. He holds a Ph.D. from KAUST, Saudi
Arabia, an M.Sc. from the University of Pennsylvania, USA, and a B.Tech. from the Indian Institute of
Technology (IIT), Roorkee.
Saif Almutairi
Saif is an Associate in the Transportation & Infrastructure program at KAPSARC. He is a transport
engineer who is interested in transport policy and economics, transport modeling, and the
assessment of policy changes related to mobility as the energy transition advances. His current
research focuses on transport system eciency, transport policy improvement, and the impact of
emerging technologies on the future of mobility. Saif holds an M.Sc. in Transportation Engineering
from the University of Southern California.
Prateek Bansal
Prateek Bansal is an Assistant Professor at the National University of Singapore, working primarily
on Bayesian machine learning methods and causal inference models with applications to transport
systems. He holds a Ph.D. from Cornell University, an M.Sc. degree from The University of Texas at
Austin and a B.Tech. from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi.
About the Authors
29Emerging Policy and Economic Research Priorities for Enabling the Electric Vehicle Sector
About the Project
The project, titled “Field Inquiry-based Assessment of Sectoral Challenges
and Opportunities,” is aimed at “questioning the questions” in order to
identify and prioritize the questions that can lead to impactful, policy-relevant
research. It seeks to identify and prioritize the emerging challenges and
opportunities within policy and economic research across diverse sectors.
www.kapsarc.org
