Global Shifts in the Automotive Sector: Markets, Firms and Technologies in the Age of Geopolitical Disruption [Hardcover]

The automotive industry is undergoing fundamental organizational changes related to the transition from the production of internal-combustion-engine vehicles towards the production of low- or no-emission powertrain technologies. In addition, the ongoing transformations in this sector are shaped by the dramatically changing geopolitical context  including the increasing technological rivalry between China and the West.

In response, this edited volume offers an in-depth examination of the automotive industry, with emphasis on the ongoing transformations in the international divisions of labour, the regional and national production models, and the established value-chain relations. Collecting contributions from established and emerging scholars from a range of disciplinary perspectives, the book brings together empirical research on different regions relevant for the changing globalized production system of the automotive sector  including the European Union, East Asia, and North America.

Part I: Key Transformative Trends of the Global Automotive Sector.- 1. Introduction John Humphrey, Martin Krzywdzinski, Grzegorz Lechowski and Tommaso Pardi.- 2. Car Markets in Transition. Can Emerging Countries Take the Lead? Tommaso Pardi.- 3. Incumbent Responses to the Challenges of Producing Connected, Autonomous, Shared and Electric Vehicles John Humphrey.- 4. Industry 4.0 and Its Implications for the International Division of Labor in the Automotive Industry Martin Krzywdzinski and Grzegorz Lechowski.- Part II: The Multilevel Sectoral Transformation in the European Union.- 5. Bringing the European Union Back in the Automobile Sector After the Covid Crisis Samuel Klebaner and Sigfrido Ram?rez-P?rez.- 6. German Industrial Model in Transition: Electromobility Challenges in the Automotive Sector Grzegorz Lechowski and Nathan Weis.- 7. Is Electrification an Opportunity or a Threat? The French Automotive Industry at the Crossroad Tommaso lÃ.