Abstract

In this paper, we present an initial analysis of work that seeks to understand, through a novel combination of concepts, the process that are driving the UKs decarbonisation strategy for the automotive sector, specifically cars and the car industry. For this research we draw on grounded theory. We undertake extensive fieldwork interviews and documentary analyses that allow us to explore, in fine-grained detail, the interlinkages in a context where policymakers seek to create a new market (cars with zero tailpipe emissions), but where the technology and investment must come from the private sector, indeed from several related industries within the automotive sector. Moreover, those private sector actors have considerable self-interest in the shape of that policy. We draw upon, notably, the multiple streams framework, the multilevel perspective, policy entrepreneurs, problem brokers, and multiple distinct types of window of opportunity, to understand how technology, market and policy factors have worked jointly
to put the UK automotive industry on a specific trajectory. We find this has come about through the interplay of different groups of actors operating across fields of specialism – technology, market and policy – with different actors operating in different windows, to achieve the ultimate goal of a functioning market for electric vehicles.