Policy–technology coevolution in electromobility: three national trajectories in China, the United States, and Japan

What the paper says

Electromobility has become central to decarbonization and industrial restructuring strategies worldwide, yet much of the literature examines public policy and technological change separately. This article analyzes how public policies and core electromobility technologies coevolve over time in China, the United States, and Japan between 2010 and 2025. Focusing on batteries, charging infrastructure, and electric powertrains, the study develops a qualitative comparative analysis of policy instruments and technological trajectories across three distinct governance contexts. The analysis identifies three distinct configurations of policy-technology coevolution: a strategic and state directed pattern in China, a decentralized and politically mediated pattern in the United States, and an incremental and path dependent pattern in Japan. These trajectories reveal how differences in sequencing, coordination, and policy recalibration generate divergent technological pathways and market outcomes. The article argues that policy design for emerging technologies is less a matter of instrument selection than of temporal alignment and adaptive sequencing. By conceptualizing electromobility transitions as coevolutionary processes, the study advances a process oriented perspective on policy design under conditions of rapid technological change and institutional diversity.