Abstract
As the industry moves beyond the internal combustion engine, incumbent original equipment manufacturers (incumbent OEMs) need a systematic, experience perception-centred way to evaluate design. We introduce a Perceived Value Framework (PVF) derived from a 2015–2025 review that defines six dimensions: perceived functionality, performance, intelligence, aesthetics, brand, and sustainability, each linked to sensory indicators. These dimensions are mapped to the emotional design model’s visceral, behavioral, and reflective levels to connect first impressions, in-use experience, and long-term meaning. Comparative case analyses of four OEMs’ 2024–2025 products validate how these dimensions operate across distinct value orchestration and design transformation initiatives. Cross-case results reveal consistent patterns in value anchoring, prioritization, and layered orchestration. We contribute a compact indicator set and a repeatable routine for strategy reviews and competitive analysis, showing that effective positioning arises from deliberate value focus and informed trade-offs rather than feature accumulation, and we note implications and limits.
Keywords
Perceived value; Automotive design innovation; Design evaluation; Incumbent OEMs
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.1482
Citation
Song, Z., Lu, S., Peng, Y., and Song, L. (2026) A Perceived Value Framework for Automotive Design Innovation: Rethinking Strategic Transition of Incumbent OEMs in the Post-ICE Era, in Simeone, L., Gray, C. M., Verhoeven, A., de Götzen, A., Bakırlıoğlu, Y., Zohar, H., Stead, M., and Buwert, P. (eds.), DRS2026: Edinburgh, 8–12 June, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.1482
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Included in
A Perceived Value Framework for Automotive Design Innovation: Rethinking Strategic Transition of Incumbent OEMs in the Post-ICE Era
As the industry moves beyond the internal combustion engine, incumbent original equipment manufacturers (incumbent OEMs) need a systematic, experience perception-centred way to evaluate design. We introduce a Perceived Value Framework (PVF) derived from a 2015–2025 review that defines six dimensions: perceived functionality, performance, intelligence, aesthetics, brand, and sustainability, each linked to sensory indicators. These dimensions are mapped to the emotional design model’s visceral, behavioral, and reflective levels to connect first impressions, in-use experience, and long-term meaning. Comparative case analyses of four OEMs’ 2024–2025 products validate how these dimensions operate across distinct value orchestration and design transformation initiatives. Cross-case results reveal consistent patterns in value anchoring, prioritization, and layered orchestration. We contribute a compact indicator set and a repeatable routine for strategy reviews and competitive analysis, showing that effective positioning arises from deliberate value focus and informed trade-offs rather than feature accumulation, and we note implications and limits.