IMPERATIVES OF COMPETITION IN THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE MARKET IN THE CONTEMPORARY MODEL OF THE WORLD ECONOMIC ORDER

Abstract

The article examines the transformation of competitive rivalry in the global electric vehicle market amid changes in the automotive industry's technological paradigm and the restructuring of global value chains. The article is relevant because vehicle electrification has transformed the traditional sources of competitive advantage for automotive manufacturers: alongside production scale and brand strength, battery technologies and access to critical minerals have become decisive factors. Competition among the leading electric mobility centers is intensifying, while governments are increasingly seeking to ensure technological sovereignty and the resilience of critical supply chains. The relevance of the study determines the purpose of the article, which is to substantiate the imperatives of competitive rivalry in the global electric vehicle market, taking into account the transformation of the automotive industry's technological paradigm and the restructuring of global value chains. To achieve this purpose, the article examines the evolution of scientific approaches to the formation of competitive advantages developed by M. Porter, G. Dosi, D. Teece, G. Pisano, A. Shuen, G. Gereffi, J. Humphrey and T. Sturgeon, and identifies possibilities for their adaptation to the specific characteristics of the electric vehicle market. The impact of electrification on the transformation of an automotive company's traditional value chain into an inter-firm, cross-industry system of competitive value creation is revealed. The competitive positions of the major centers of the global electric vehicle market in 2024–2025, namely China, the European Union, and the United States, are examined. Differences in their competitive models are identified: China's scale-based, cost-efficient, and technology-integrated model; the EU's technology-, brand-, and regulation-oriented model; and the United States' innovation-, technology-, and finance-oriented model. The study of the specific features of competitive rivalry made it possible to substantiate a system of interconnected imperatives, including technological, resource, scale, digital, infrastructural, stakeholder, institutional, geoeconomic, price, and environmental imperatives. Causal relationships among them are as follows: resource availability determines technological capabilities; technological solutions determine production efficiency; scaling contributes to cost reduction; and price accessibility expands market penetration potential and creates conditions for further innovation. Thus, contemporary competitive rivalry in the electric vehicle market is gradually transforming from competition among individual manufacturers into competition among technological-production and geoeconomic ecosystems.