Technological Complexity and Coevolutionary Diversity in Semiconductors for Advanced Vehicles: Evidence from Patent Data.

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Abstract:

Semiconductors have become a critical technological component enabling the development of advanced vehicles, particularly electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs/PHEVs). These devices support essential vehicle functions such as electric propulsion, battery management, advanced driver assistance systems, and vehicle connectivity (Juliussen & Robinson, 2010).
As the automotive industry undergoes rapid electrification and digitalization, the demand for semiconductor technologies has increased substantially. Compared with internal combustion engine vehicles, electric vehicles incorporate a significantly larger number of semiconductor devices. Estimates suggest that a modern vehicle may contain between 1,000 and 3,000 chips, while advanced EVs can exceed this range due to the integration of power electronics, battery management systems, sensors, and control architectures (IEA, 2025; Deloitte, 2026; BCG, 2022).
Building on the methodology proposed by Strumsky and Lobo (2015) and Lobo and Strumsky (2019), which uses patent technological classes as the unit of analysis, this study examines the evolution of technological complexity in semiconductors designed for the automotive industry. The analysis is grounded in the concept of coevolutionary diversity (Arthur, 2015), which conceptualizes technological evolution as the interaction between technological complexity - captured by the length of technological classes - and technological diversity, measured as the number of distinct classes involved (Page, 2008).
This paper develops a set of indicators to analyze how technological complexity evolves within the semiconductor technlogy for advanced vehicles and to explore the mechanisms driving this evolution. By examining patterns of technological diversity and recombination in patent data, the study contributes to a better understanding of the dynamics of inventive activity and the implications of increasing technological complexity in the semiconductor technologies underpinning next-generation vehicles (Lara, Chávez, & Jaimes, 2026).