Electric Vehicles Are a Platform Business: What Firms Need to Know
解释电动汽车作为平台商品与燃油车的网络效应差异，并指出电动汽车企业必须采用平台策略，包括协调网络、产品发布和开放度决策。
Many of the most successful firms—such as Alibaba, Google, and Uber—operate platforms. Electric vehicles (EVs) are platform goods as well because value comes from the vehicle plus complementary providers. Gasoline vehicles are also platform goods, but managers in the industry can ignore that because the refueling network is mature. However, temporal and structural differences in network effects for electric vehicles make it crucial for EV firms to incorporate platform strategies. This article explains these differences and outlines the key platform strategy decisions that EV firms need to make, including platform network coordination, launch, and openness.