Editorial of the 2015 special issue about Electromobility

Electric vehicles (EVs) are not a 21st century innovation. They first surfaced during the early days of the automotive industry, and continued evolving until the rise of Fordism. During that period, EVs dominated the market but, within a matter of years, they disappeared in favour of internal combustion vehicles (ICV). Throughout the 20th century, researchers, engineers, experts and consultants encouraged manufacturers to launch new EVs, but each attempt led to failure. Today, EVs (full electric, hybrids, plug-in hybrids, as well as hydrogen fuel cell vehicles) are resurfacing through a wide range of projects and in a number of different ways. First, EVs are no longer considered to be experimental concept cars, but rather are incorporated into the production plans of mainstream manufacturers (e.g., Zoé by Renault, Leaf by Nissan, Prius by Toyota, DS by PSA, BMW i by BMW). Second, new entrants to the marketplace like Tesla Motors or BYD are bypassing the barriers that traditionally controlled entry into the automotive industry and are instead positioning themselves within the elite circle of car manufacturers (Donada, 2013). Third, the EVs resurgence does not focus solely on the vehicles themselves but also on a set of associated services such as car-sharing, battery rental, charging infrastructures, and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) systems. Operating these services are many non-automotive companies such as energy and service providers, battery producers, telecoms, and internet companies; all of which are motivated stakeholders in the new ‘electromobility' industry. Electromobility has much more to offer than simply EVs sold to individuals or fleets. It also refers to the use of electric powertrain technologies, in-vehicle information, vehicle-to-vehicle communication systems and dedicated infrastructures that enable the use of personal or collective EVs. Therefore, the electromobility industry in fact corresponds to the ecosystem of stakeholders contributing to electromobility products and services. Numerous researchers in the fields of management and economics, in engineering sciences, or in political and social sciences, have analysed the development of electromobility in terms of its ‘raison d'être' and principle consequences. Their studies have been disseminated through books (Ehsani et al., 2009; Calabrese, 2012) and in academic papers published in general or specialised reviews (Aggeri et al., 2009; Sioshansi and Denholm, 2009; San Roman et al., 2011). The authors generally consider electromobilityto be a solution to various mobility issues due to its compliance with fuel efficiency and emission requirements, as well as market demands for lower mobility costs and constraints. Additionally, electromobility can be considered a contributing factor in protecting collective public goods like local public health (via reduced urban air and noise pollution), stabilising the effects of global warming by reducing sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NOx) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, and increasing energy security by creating conditions for energy independence that also serve to reduce the impact of oil price fluctuations.