EV startup Miles Automotive has announced plans to outsource manufacturing of its California-bound Electric Vehicles to a China-based assembly factory.

Auto analysts continue to speculate about plans by Detroit-based companies to partner with Asian manufacturers.  And yesterday the Wall Street Journal reported on BYD's plans to produce EVs for global markets based on a lower barrier to manufacturing.

More than ever before, the road to electric vehicles powered by batteries, Fuel Cells and capacitors seems destined to pass through Asia.

And it is time to challenge common assumptions about EVs?

Will EVs be a Domestic or Global Industry?
It is commonly assumed that electric vehicles would bring non-OPEC countries more 'independence'.  Instead it seems clear that the age of EVs will pull them further into the global economy of 'interdependence'.  Electric vehicles propulsion systems and storage systems (batteries, fuel cells and capacitors) are likely to emerge from a global value chain that spans from Asia to Europe to Americas. 

Will Early Adopter Markets Emerge from within Europe/California or Asia?

Category: Transportation
Year: 2014
Tags: energy, transportation, electricity, hydrogen, batteries, fuel, cells