Digital Transformation and Green Innovation in New Energy Vehicle Firms: Evidence from China

Digitalization and greening are increasingly interconnected in the new energy vehicle (NEV) industry, yet firm-level evidence on the relationship between digital transformation and green innovation remains limited. Using an unbalanced panel of 899 Chinese A-share listed firms in the NEV industry chain from 2013 to 2024, this study estimates a two-way fixed-effects model and examines exploratory and exploitative innovation pathways using non-green patent-based proxies. Digital transformation is positively associated with green innovation (coefficient = 0.05896, SE = 0.01306, p < 0.001), and this relationship is supported by a range of alternative measures and robustness specifications. Pathway evidence is positive but sensitive to measurement and timing, with stronger support for the exploratory pathway under a temporally ordered specification and for the exploitative pathway under an alternative digital-transformation measure. Formal interaction tests further show that the positive association is stronger among state-owned enterprises and larger firms, while no systematic regional difference is detected. These findings provide industry-specific evidence on the digital transformation–green innovation relationship and highlight the importance of firm-level heterogeneity and innovation-pathway specification.