Abstract
Lead Market is described as a specific design of an innovation that spreads worldwide after successful adoption by a single country. The country that is Lead Market is usually not the country that invented the new innovation that was successfully adopted. The Lead Market country was able to set international standards. Norway became the nation that massively adopted electric vehicles (EV). The Norwegian government implemented EV policies and incentives, and the result of this was that the sales of electric cars increased dramatically compared to other countries, showing that Norway is a Lead Market of electric cars. The Lead Market concept has generally focused on explaining the global diffusion of new innovations. However, the Lead Market literature has neglected Lead Market distributors who are responsible for importing, selling and maintaining new innovations. These are addressed in this research paper by examining how the increased popularity of electric vehicles impacted car dealers' businesses and their future prospects in the Lead Market of Norway.
In this bachelor thesis we conducted a qualitative research, where we interviewed car dealers from different geographical areas in Norway who sell new cars and those who are involved in the aftermarket. We were able to critically discuss whether the popularity of electric cars has an impact on car dealers and the future plan for Norway by linking the constraining literature available to us. We concluded that car dealers had a significant influence after electric cars entered the market, and that plans to eliminate/reduce electric cars in 2025 are still a topic of differing views.
