Beyond patent counts: cross-country evidence on innovation quality and collaboration in new energy vehicles

Patents are widely used as proxies for technological potential, yet simple counts may misrepresent leadership in emerging industries. This study investigates cross-country differences in new energy vehicle (NEV) technologies using IP5 patent data from 2010-2021. We assess both the quantity and quality of patents across six technological macro-groups, applying ten quality indicators and a synthetic mean rank index to capture multidimensional aspects of innovation. Results show that while China's rise is evident in patent numbers, Japan, the USA, and Korea consistently lead in high-quality patents, whereas Germany lags across most macro-groups. Collaboration patterns also reveal that international co-patenting in NEVs is modest and not systematically linked to superior patent quality, in contrast to pharmaceuticals or ICT. The findings stress the need for policies that not only support patent activity but also enhance the conditions for translating inventive output into technological leadership in the automotive transition.