Big Corporations, Chinese EVs, and the Energy Transition in the Global Order

The global energy transition and the rapid advancement of technologies such as electric vehicles (EVs) have posed a challenge for large Western automotive corporations, as it is not limited to price competition, but involves a confrontation between different industrial logics and business structures, raising questions about institutional adaptation to the emergence of new actors, both within and outside this industry, in the global order. This article addresses these dynamics through the conceptual framework of Thorstein Veblen, applying his ideas on the “machine process” and institutional change, in which state policy enables technological change in the automotive sector. Through a qualitative analysis, the evolution of the Chinese automotive industry is reviewed, guided the aim of maximizing industrial efficiency during the transition. This work describes the main Chinese automotive companies based on fossil fuels; secondly, the main automotive companies based on renewable energies; thirdly, the impact of the competition from electric cars against Japanese, European, and US corporations and their influence in markets outside their territory, like Mexico and Brazil. Finally, a reflection is made on whether this technological change helps the Just Transition globally or harms ecosystems in the Global South.