Article Gold Open Access 2026

Redefining Talent for Smart Mobility: A Data-Driven Competency Framework for NEV Sales and Marketing in the Digital Era

World Electric Vehicle Journal
Journal · Vol. 17 · Issue 1 · Art. 18
Abstract

This study explores the core competencies required for sales and marketing roles in the rapidly evolving NEV sector. Adopting an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design, it employs a big data-driven approach to construct a competency framework: web crawlers collected NEV-related recruitment data across over 20 major Chinese cities, the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) model identified core competency items, and a multi-dimensional consensus scoring process via the Nominal Group Technique (NGT) refined the framework. The resulting validated model comprises nine thematic clusters, reflecting a shift from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle sales’ traditional skill set. Beyond enriching conventional competencies (customer reception, sales service, CRM, sales support), it highlights emerging capabilities: live-streaming/short-video marketing, digital media operations, and ecosystem-oriented resource collaboration. Further, NGT-based multi-dimensional evaluations (frequency, importance, difficulty) generated a four-quadrant matrix, offering actionable guidance for vocational education and corporate training (VET) curriculum design. Theoretically, this study redefines digital-era automotive sales roles: not mere product sellers, but core actors in user experience co-creation and ecological value integration, which enriches discourse on sales role evolution. © 2025 by the authors.

Keywords

Author Keywords

competency framework competency map EV marketing Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) new energy vehicle (NEV) vocational education and training (VET)

Index Keywords

E-learning Employment Curricula Personnel training Apprentices Commerce Ecosystems Internal combustion engines User experience Competency framework Competency map Digital era EV marketing Latent Dirichlet allocation New energy vehicle New energy vehicles Vocational education and training Sales
Author Affiliations
School of Management, Suzhou City University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
School of Electronic and Information Engineering, Suzhou City University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
School of Business, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
Funding & Acknowledgements
Grant: 2025JGYB674
This research was funded by [Jiangsu Province Higher Education Teaching Reform Research Project] grant number [2025JGYB674] And [National Natural Science Foundation of China General Program] grant number [No. 71972098] And [Jiangsu Province Education Science Planning Project] grant number [C/2024/02/05].
National Natural Science Foundation of China, NNSFC
Grant: 71972098
This research was funded by [Jiangsu Province Higher Education Teaching Reform Research Project] grant number [2025JGYB674] And [National Natural Science Foundation of China General Program] grant number [No. 71972098] And [Jiangsu Province Education Science Planning Project] grant number [C/2024/02/05].
National Natural Science Foundation of China, NNSFC
This research was funded by [Jiangsu Province Higher Education Teaching Reform Research Project] grant number [2025JGYB674] And [National Natural Science Foundation of China General Program] grant number [No. 71972098] And [Jiangsu Province Education Science Planning Project] grant number [C/2024/02/05].
Grant: C/2024/02/05
This research was funded by [Jiangsu Province Higher Education Teaching Reform Research Project] grant number [2025JGYB674] And [National Natural Science Foundation of China General Program] grant number [No. 71972098] And [Jiangsu Province Education Science Planning Project] grant number [C/2024/02/05].
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