This study forms part of a wider research piece ‘Can the UK win the global R&D race?‘. Material is available to re-publish, with credit (including link) to Source Advisors. This report was published on 29 July 2024. Please get in touch for additional information.
Leading UK based companies such as Jaguar Land Rover and Rolls-Royce are key players in the development of new technologies for both the car and aviation sectors. However, this is very much a global industry with large players in Europe, Asia and the Americas. The chart below (Fig.1) shows the number of patent applications filed in each year for the period between 2010-2024, with projected growth for the remainder of 2024 to 2026.
Patent filings are a good indicator of technological growth. Usually, an inventor will file a patent application to protect and commercialise their technology. Granted patents offer the owner rights to stop others from exploiting their patented technology (use, sell, make, distribute) for up to 20 years. To qualify for patent protection, the technology must be novel and considered inventive according to local patent law. Usually, only one patent is granted per invention and therefore the number of patent applications is an indicator of the number of proposed inventions for a given technology area.
The chart below shows that innovation within the automotive sector has exponentially increased year on year with projected growth to continue on the same trajectory. To provide some context, filings in the automotive industry have increased 450% within the 12-year period between 2010 and 2022, indicating high growth and competitiveness. It is worth explaining that growth figures from 2023 onwards is incomplete due to the 18-month time lag from when patent applications are filed to when those applications are made publicly available.
Figure 1. Automotive sector growth by patent filings 2010-2022 and projected growth for 2023-2026.
Geographic breakdown of automotive patents
Given that patent applications are territorial, we can trace back the origins of a technology by the first (priority) filing within a patent family. For reference, a patent family usually relates to a single invention and the family members are represented by the number of countries (foreign filings) that invention has. Usually, the first filing is made in the country of origin and the chart below (Fig.2) shows the percentage (%) share of territories where first filings are made for inventions within the automotive industry. This chart illustrates all filings made from 2010 onwards that are granted and active or currently patent pending, therefore excluding any expired or lapsed patents or patent applications.
The below chart shows that China and the United States (US) have the greatest share of first filings, indicating the majority of patent applications (or inventions) have originated from China and the US. Now this, at first glance, indicates that countries like China, US, Japan, Germany and Korea are the top innovators in the Automotive space. However, it is worth considering that China’s patent system, although improving, is not as robust as other top patent regimes such as the US, UK, EP, Japan and Singapore. Additionally, there are varying levels of awareness of how patents work and the commercial benefits of patent protection, therefore, patent filings may not be a complete indication of innovative activity. For example, an individual (or business) may decide to keep commercially valuable and sensitive technology a secret from others and opt for protection via their local Trade Secrets legislation. That being said, patent data provides a good picture for patent intensive industries like Automotive.
The UK by comparison sits in 8th with a 2% share, lower than France and Germany with 3.42% and 8% respectively. Suggesting that the UK has work to do if it wants to be a global leader, with the energy transition beginning, it is not too late for the UK to lead the way to develop the next generation of fuels and vehicle technologies.
Figure 2. Percentage share of first filings related to the automotive industry between 2010-2024.
All patent applications are tagged with technology indicators to categorise filings by its constituent technologies. I say technologies, rather than technology, because it is very common for a patent application to have more than one technology indicator. Usually new technologies are born from a mix of existing technologies or at least are classified to a certain discipline of science and technology.
Given that patents are classified in this way, it is possible to search and filter for patents that contain technologies related to the automotive industry. To better understand what new technologies are being developed and how those trends may have changed over time. Like the geographic breakdown, it is possible to determine the % share of filings by technology and figure 3 gives a great illustration for filings between 2010 and 2024.
This chart shows that clearly the majority of development and respective patent filings relate to fuel cell technology, battery power storage and electric power. Clearly indicating a shift in R&D from conventional fossil fuel technology to electric power. This is not surprising given global climate targets and the increased adoption in electric and hybrid vehicles, but work is still ongoing to make electrification a viable primary option for travel.
Figure 3. Percentage share of patent filings by technology for the automotive industry.
So, who is driving this activity. Figure 4 below illustrates the breakdown of technology by country of origin to show the countries that are driving innovation and what each country appears to specialise in. In this chart, we have removed China as Chinese filings heavily skewed the results.
The chart below shows that the US, Japan and Korea are the three dominating countries in terms of automotive innovation, with the US specialising particularly in material analysis and charging infrastructure compared to other nations. Additionally, the US is active in all of the top 10 technologies for this industry. Comparatively, Japan and Korea are both very active in secondary cell technology (rechargeable batteries), as opposed to primary cells which relate to single-use batteries. Energy storage and electric propulsion technologies also features heavily, and development will attempt to tackle problems such as mileage, power distribution and speed of charge. The UK features in the top 10, however, comparative filings originating in the UK are approx. 11x fewer than the US.
Figure 4. Technology breakdown by origin country for the automotive industry.
To get a better view of the UK’s contribution to patent filings in this space, Figure 5 zooms in on the UK’s activity to illuminate the technologies in which the UK is contributing to the global stage. The chart clearly shows three key technology areas for UK contribution, particularly secondary cells, vehicle energy storage, and material analysis (electrode testing).
Figure 5. Technology breakdown by volume of filings originating from the UK for the automotive industry.
About Akshay Thaman | IP Consultant & Policy Lead
Akshay works closely with Source Advisors’ clients to uncover IP that may be hidden within their businesses. As a Member of the British Patent Information Professionals group (BPIP) he brings academic rigour and commercial experience to his role as IP Consultant & Policy Lead.
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Data collection for this report was conducted on 21 June 2024 for patents filed from 1 January 2010 onwards. This report analyses filings that are either granted and active or currently patent pending, therefore excluding any expired or lapsed patents or patent applications. Read our full report ‘A focus on key technologies – how does the UK compare to other global leaders?‘.
