In a research paper jointly authored with Johannes Lauer (Hamburg) Ingo Liefner examines policy and planning tools used in Shenzhen, China, to assert innovation in the new energy vehicle (NEV) industry, using an evaluation of documents and interviews. The paper finds that a city can play a decisive role in the implementation of innovation policy, and Chinese cities in particular make use of a broad set of innovation support measures ranging from binding quotas, public procurement and incentives to bans and orders. The findings underline the importance of strong regulatory instruments that do not conform to the Western notion of market-compliant policy, but nevertheless work effectively in the Chinese context. Moreover, the results highlight how successful policy support for innovation in the NEV can be implemented.
