Technological Landscape and Collaborations in Hybrid Vehicles Industry

Abstract

The main purpose of this paper is to develop a patent study on hybrid vehicles as an initial approach to identify the patent density in this field and the collaborative efforts of organizations with the highest patent activity, including strategic partners and more recent patents. The present paper presents the technological landscape of hybrid vehicles by means of a methodology that integrates collaborative systems engineering with patent analysis. Its major contributions lie in the methodology employed and insights obtained. We obtained and analyzed a total of 40,023 patents from 2000 to 2014. The research was developed through two stages. Stage one identified the main emphasis of research and the top patent companies. 
Furthermore, we analysed collaborations efforts.Results show that patent activity mainly focuses on control and electric vehicle propulsion, as well as on control systems especially adapted for hybrid vehicles. The analysis indicates that the company with the highest patent activity also has a strong focus on collaborative technology development. Toyota stands out for having the highest patenting rate and a diversity of collaboration agreements, particularly for Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Technologies. The second stage included determining the research focus according to the type of hybrid vehicle, the predominant alternative energy sources, and the recent patents of top companies according to the most frequent alternative source of energy.The insights obtained indicate that research on parallel hybrid vehicle predominates, followed by series-hybrid and series-parallel hybrid type. Turning to alternative sources of energy, there is extensive research on hydrogen, followed by solar energy. Toyota and Hyundai occupy the leading positions; we also identified their recent inventions in this arena. This paper contributes to the ongoing research on hybrid vehicles. The outcomes of this study aim to support the strategic decision-making processes by stakeholders involved in the automotive sector.