The Focus of Research in Germany’s Automotive Industry: An Assessment Based on the IW Patent Database

This market deterioration has coincided with a firm government policy to end the use of combustion engines. How have the companies affected by this coming ban adjusted their research activity in response? The analysis of the IW patent database presented here allows a detailed look at the research activities of the automotive industry in Germany based on patent applications in the years 2010 to 2019. This shows that the main car producers have made a drastic shift towards electric traction in their research and since 2018 have filed more patents for electric powertrains than for their petrol or diesel counterparts. The three largest automotive suppliers have also clearly changed their strategy. In 2010, patent applications related to the conventional powertrain still accounted for half of their filings. By 2019, this figure was down to just under 29 per cent, while electric propulsion accounted for about 17.5 per cent of automotive patent applications in this segment. Among the large corporations, however, the establishment of successful electric powertrain research is taking more time than the retreat from conventional technology. Meanwhile, the smaller automotive suppliers in Germany are a cause for concern. Here, the shift to a focus on e-mobility is not only slow but also limited to relatively few companies.