Purpose: A survey has been carried out among Italian car makers, suppliers, and customers to
identify the potential changes that the traditional Italian automotive supply chain would need for
the introduction of electric vehicles. In addition, this study investigates the degree of importance
that enterprises attribute to the electric vehicle market and their perceptions about the
development of this market, also evaluating which types of electric vehicles and body styles are
receiving the most relevant investment.
Design/methodology/approach: An empirical investigation has been carried out to examine
the above-mentioned aspects. Data have been collected through an on-line survey and analysed
by a descriptive statistical analysis, confirmatory factors analysis, and cluster analyses.
Findings: Market penetration of electric vehicles is mainly influenced by technological choices of
car makers and battery manufacturers and by the ability to organize and manage the integrated
actions of stakeholders, also including component suppliers, and manufacturers of vehicle
management systems. Stakeholders have to exploit economies of scale, to make use and expand
long-time competencies in electric engineering with automotive know-how, and to build up
cooperation with experts in the new value chain to facilitate the required transfer of know-how.
Alliances and joint ventures can provide manufacturers access to the know-how, technology, and production capacity of battery suppliers. Outsourcing, especially as regards research and
development, will occur even more frequently in the near future. An agile supply chain should be
adopted to manage a fluctuating market demand.
Originality/value: This preliminary study contributes to provide an outlook of some of the
most important changes that traditional Italian automotive supply chain would need to promote
the introduction of electric vehicles and their critical components with an emphasis on
production aspects.
