New business models for electric cars-A holistic approach

Climate change and global resource shortages have led to rethinking traditional individual mobility services based on combustion engines. As the consequence of technological improvements, the first electric vehicles are now being introduced and greater market penetration can be expected. But any wider implementation of battery-powered electrical propulsion systems in the future will give rise to new challenges for both the traditional automotive industry and other new players, e.g. battery manufacturers, the power supply industry and other service providers. Different application cases of electric vehicles are currently being discussed which means that numerous business models could emerge, leading to new shares in value creation and involving new players. Consequently, individual stakeholders are uncertain about which business models are really effective with regard to targeting a profitable overall concept. Therefore, this paper aims to define a holistic approach to developing business models for electric mobility, which analyzes the system as a whole on the one hand and provides decision support for affected enterprises on the other. To do so, the basic elements of electric mobility are considered and topical approaches to business models for various stakeholders are discussed. The paper concludes by presenting a systemic instrument for business models based on morphological methods. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.