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A vast movement of technological recomposition is at work under the constraint of global environmental limits. The case of the transformation of the automotive system will be used to illustrate this type of change. The automotive system is one of the major technological systems, reaching a critical limit of effects on the environment due primarily to its emissions. This limit has led in the short term to a purely technological response, focused on motorization: elimination of thermal motorization, and its general replacement by electric propulsion technologies. This first movement is set to spark an innovation stream focused on new motorization technologies, and also on reconfiguration of the automotive technical system, and finally on diversification of transport systems. This case of technological change in the automotive industry enables us to understand the trends of this new form of technological change, brought about by the environmental limit, and on the specific innovation dynamics that it generates.JEL codes: L92, L98, O33, Q5, R4