IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i20p14794-d1258360.html

Sustainability of the New Energy Automobile Industry: Examining the Relationship among Government Subsidies, R&D Intensity, and Innovation Performance

Author

Listed:
  • Xin Ma

    (School of Management, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100089, China)

  • Hong Jiang

    (Claro M. Recto Academy of Advanced Studies, Lyceum of the Philippines University, Manila 1002, Philippines)

  • Lijuan Tong

    (School of Management, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100089, China)

  • Jingyi Zhang

    (School of Artificial Intelligence and Date Science, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300130, China)

  • Mengyuan Dong

    (School of Management, Henan University of Technology, Zhengzhou 450001, China)

Abstract

One of the most important factors in fostering the sustainable growth of the world economy is the global green low-carbon transition. With its effective use of resources, its high technological requirements, and its high added value, the new energy vehicle industry exemplifies the potential for sustainability. Its growth satisfies the requirements of China’s transition to an economic growth mode. This study performs an empirical analysis, using panel data from 154 new energy vehicle companies for the years 2015 to 2020. It examines the role of research and development (R&D) intensity in the impact relationship between government subsidies, R&D intensity, and innovation performance. The study’s results reveal that government subsidies have a significant positive influence on the innovation performance of enterprises, with this effect being more pronounced in non-state-owned and large-scale enterprises. Moreover, the mechanism analysis indicates that R&D intensity serves as a mediator between government subsidies and innovation performance. Based on this, this paper proposes that the government should refine the subsidy policy and should scientifically classify the enterprise standards and that enterprises should enhance their R&D capability and should develop innovation mechanisms.

Suggested Citation

  • Xin Ma & Hong Jiang & Lijuan Tong & Jingyi Zhang & Mengyuan Dong, 2023. "Sustainability of the New Energy Automobile Industry: Examining the Relationship among Government Subsidies, R&D Intensity, and Innovation Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-16, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:20:p:14794-:d:1258360
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/20/14794/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/20/14794/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zhang, Huiming & Li, Lianshui & Zhou, Dequn & Zhou, Peng, 2014. "Political connections, government subsidies and firm financial performance: Evidence from renewable energy manufacturing in China," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 330-336.
    2. Arif Khan, Muhammad & Qin, Xuezhi & Jebran, Khalil & Ullah, Irfan, 2020. "Uncertainty and R&D investment: Does product market competition matter?," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    3. Lili Jia & Eunyoung Nam & Dongphil Chun, 2021. "Impact of Chinese Government Subsidies on Enterprise Innovation: Based on a Three-Dimensional Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-22, January.
    4. Yu, Feifei & Wang, Liting & Li, Xiaotong, 2020. "The effects of government subsidies on new energy vehicle enterprises: The moderating role of intelligent transformation," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    5. Kim, Bongsun & Kim, Eonsoo & Miller, Douglas J. & Mahoney, Joseph T., 2016. "The impact of the timing of patents on innovation performance," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(4), pages 914-928.
    6. Wang, Yufei & Liao, Zhongju, 2023. "Functional industrial policy mechanism under natural resource conflict: A case study on the Chinese new energy vehicle industry," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    7. Shiyuan Liu & Jiang Du & Weike Zhang & Xiaoli Tian, 2021. "Opening the box of subsidies: which is more effective for innovation?," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 11(3), pages 421-449, September.
    8. Yasanur Kayikci & Yigit Kazancoglu & Nazlican Gozacan‐Chase & Cisem Lafci, 2022. "Analyzing the drivers of smart sustainable circular supply chain for sustainable development goals through stakeholder theory," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(7), pages 3335-3353, November.
    9. Wu, Zhanglan & Shao, Qinglong & Su, Yantao & Zhang, Dan, 2021. "A socio-technical transition path for new energy vehicles in China: A multi-level perspective," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    10. Caulfield, Brian & Furszyfer, Dylan & Stefaniec, Agnieszka & Foley, Aoife, 2022. "Measuring the equity impacts of government subsidies for electric vehicles," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 248(C).
    11. David, Paul A. & Hall, Bronwyn H. & Toole, Andrew A., 2000. "Is public R&D a complement or substitute for private R&D? A review of the econometric evidence," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(4-5), pages 497-529, April.
    12. Wang, Xiaozhen & Zou, Honghui, 2018. "Study on the effect of wind power industry policy types on the innovation performance of different ownership enterprises: Evidence from China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 241-252.
    13. Olabi, A.G. & Abdelkareem, Mohammad Ali, 2022. "Renewable energy and climate change," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    14. Martin Falk, 2012. "Quantile estimates of the impact of R&D intensity on firm performance," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 39(1), pages 19-37, July.
    15. Guo, Yan & Zhang, Haochen, 2022. "Spillovers of innovation subsidies on regional industry growth: Evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    16. Giampieri, A. & Ling-Chin, J. & Ma, Z. & Smallbone, A. & Roskilly, A.P., 2020. "A review of the current automotive manufacturing practice from an energy perspective," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 261(C).
    17. Wang, Zhongcheng & Li, Xinyue & Xue, Xinhong & Liu, Yahuan, 2022. "More government subsidies, more green innovation? The evidence from Chinese new energy vehicle enterprises," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 11-21.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. You-Dong Li & Chen-Li Yan, 2024. "Driving Paths and Evolution Trends of Urban Low-Carbon Transformation: Configuration Analysis Based on Three Batches of Low-Carbon Pilot Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-18, September.
    2. Siqi Che & Rongting Li, 2024. "Comparative Analysis of BYD and Tesla’s CSR Image Construction through CSR Reports," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 19(4), pages 106-106, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yu, Hong & Zhang, Muyang & Zhu, Ruolu, 2025. "A reevaluation on the effectiveness of subsidies on firm's innovation: Evidence from newly categorized subsidy data," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 219(C).
    2. Zhao, Yuntong & Jian, Zhaoquan & Du, Yushen, 2024. "How can China's subsidy promote the transition to electric vehicles?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 189(PB).
    3. Yazhou Wu & Xiaomin Li & Ce Zhang & Shiqi Wang, 2024. "The impact of government subsidies on technological innovation of new energy vehicle enterprises: from the perspective of industry chain," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(10), pages 25589-25607, October.
    4. Yu, Feifei & Wang, Liting & Li, Xiaotong, 2020. "The effects of government subsidies on new energy vehicle enterprises: The moderating role of intelligent transformation," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    5. Lin, Boqiang & Xie, Yongjing, 2026. "Venture capital and the resilience of renewable energy enterprises: Nonlinear relationships and supply chain spillover effects," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 256(PB).
    6. Pi, Dawei & Xue, Pengyu & Wang, Weihua & Xie, Boyuan & Wang, Hongliang & Wang, Xianhui & Yin, Guodong, 2023. "Automotive platoon energy-saving: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    7. Shen, Huayu & Hou, Fei, 2021. "Trade policy uncertainty and corporate innovation evidence from Chinese listed firms in new energy vehicle industry," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    8. Gao, Xue & Zhang, Fang & Jiang, Siyang, 2025. "Adapting to policy changes: How firms' R&D responses affect their performance," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 54(1).
    9. He, Siyi & Liu, Jinsong & Ying, Qianwei, 2023. "Externalities of government-oriented support for innovation: Evidence from the national innovative city pilot policy in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    10. Kumar, Labesh & Neumann, Rebecca, 2026. "Impact of Financial Development on Industrial R\&D: Evidence from OECD Countries," MPRA Paper 128447, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Linjie Feng & Huangxin Chen & Yuriy Bilan & Salahuddin Khan & Weipeng Zhan, 2024. "Green innovation: the role of government subsidies under the system of digital finance -based on a zero-inflated negative binomial model," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(11), pages 29621-29642, November.
    12. Yuwen Xu & Jingjing Li & Jianling Jiao & Kathryn Cormican, 2025. "Impacts of local governments' wind power policy and preferences on wind power development: an empirical analysis of China," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 27(2), pages 4285-4317, February.
    13. Chunhua Ju & Ke Li & Chonghuan Xu & Fuguang Bao, 2025. "Challenges and opportunities of hydrogen energy application in public transportation in the post-epidemic period," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-20, December.
    14. Huang, Xiulu & Wang, Xiaoyu & Ge, Pengfei, 2024. "Selective industrial policy and innovation resource misallocation," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 124-146.
    15. Piaopeng Song & Yuxiao Gu & Bin Su & Arifa Tanveer & Qiao Peng & Weijun Gao & Shaomin Wu & Shihong Zeng, 2023. "The Impact of Green Technology Research and Development (R&D) Investment on Performance: A Case Study of Listed Energy Companies in Beijing, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-24, August.
    16. Zhenji Jin & Yue Shang & Jian Xu, 2018. "The Impact of Government Subsidies on Private R&D and Firm Performance: Does Ownership Matter in China’s Manufacturing Industry?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-20, June.
    17. Lin Zhang & Xiaochen Zhang & Jingjing An & Wei Zhang & Jingshen Yao, 2022. "Examining the Role of Stakeholder-Oriented Corporate Governance in Achieving Sustainable Development: Evidence from the SME CSR in the Context of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-22, July.
    18. Yanbo Wang & Boyao Zhi & Shumin Xiang & Guangxin Ren & Yongzhong Feng & Gaihe Yang & Xiaojiao Wang, 2023. "China’s Biogas Industry’s Sustainable Transition to a Low-Carbon Plan—A Socio-Technical Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-20, March.
    19. Lin, Boqiang & Xie, Yongjing, 2023. "Positive or negative? R&D subsidies and green technology innovation: Evidence from China's renewable energy industry," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 213(C), pages 148-156.
    20. Longzhen Yu & Jianhua Zhu & Zhixian Wang, 2021. "Green Taxation Promotes the Intelligent Transformation of Chinese Manufacturing Enterprises: Tax Leverage Theory," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-27, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:20:p:14794-:d:1258360. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager The email address of this maintainer does not seem to be valid anymore. Please ask MDPI Indexing Manager to update the entry or send us the correct address (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.