Abstract
In this paper I question the likely development trajectory of electric vehicle (EV) manufacture and related advanced-transportation systems in Southern California. The large base of labor skills, technical expertise, and research and development organizations that are found in the region in the aerospace, electronics, and metalworking industries provide a solid foundation for the EV industry. These sectors also provide a legacy of industrial organization that is oriented more towards flexible production than mass production. The technological immaturity of the EV and the uncertain market it faces, combined with the existing industrial atmosphere in Southern California, suggest that early production of EVs will be organized flexibly in an industrial district uniting firms and technologies in the production of components for an advanced ground-transportation industry.
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