Electric vehicle (EV) sales have plummeted in Europe, with Volkswagen seeing a 24 percent decline and Mercedes also seeing a drop, as manufacturers blame high inflation and rising energy costs for the drop. .
As drivers once again opt for cheaper gasoline models, demand for battery-powered vehicles has declined and popular automakers are feeling the impact.
Volkswagen and Audi sell some of the UK’s most popular electric vehicles, including the Audi e-tron and Volkswagen ID range.
But recent data suggests demand for petrol in the UK is rising at a faster rate than that for electricity amid concerns over pricing and charging infrastructure.
Auto giant Mercedes-Benz also reported an eight percent drop in electric vehicle sales yesterday, blaming the “abrupt end of a tax incentive” in Germany and the phasing out of an electric model of its Smart brand.
Drivers are returning to gasoline and diesel vehicles amid concerns about electric car prices and charging infrastructure.
The electric Volkswagen ID is one of the most popular electric vehicles in the UK
Audi’s e-tron range is also a popular model
Vauxhall Stellantis has made a U-turn on its initial plans to switch its best-selling city car to an all-electric model by 2027.
Globally, sales of fully electric vehicles from Audi, Skoda and Porsche owners fell three percent to 136,400, while sales of combustion engine cars rose four percent to almost two million.
The Aston Martin boss said yesterday he will continue making petrol cars until regulators force him to stop amid weak demand for electric vehicles.
The company also delayed the launch of its first battery-powered vehicle from 2025 to 2026 amid rapidly falling demand.
President Lawrence Stroll said there will “always” be demand for sports cars with gasoline engines, such as V8 and V12 models.
Like its rivals, the 111-year-old manufacturer will have to deal with a ban on new petrol or diesel cars in Britain from 2035.
But Stroll has stated that his company will not abandon gas-guzzling vehicles until it is necessary.
‘We will continue to do them as long as we are allowed to do so. There will always be demand, although it will reduce,” said the billionaire sports car manufacturer.
He also stated that the push towards electric vehicles was due more to “hype” than actual and current consumer demand.
His comments contrast with competitors such as Jaguar and Rolls-Royce, which have pledged to go fully electric within six years.
Stellantis, the automaker that owns Peugeot, Vauxhall and Maserati, among others, also did the same with Stroll.
It declared it would expand production of its popular petrol Fiat Panda until 2030 to meet demand.
But the U-turn comes after the company made initial plans to switch its best-selling city car to an all-electric one by 2027.
The drop in demand for electric vehicles comes as UK politicians cut subsidies and reconsider ambitious targets to ditch petrol and diesel vehicles.
In September, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pushed back the deadline for blocking new sales of petrol and diesel in the UK from 20130 to 2035.
Incentives for drivers who buy new electric vehicles will be eliminated in 2022.
According to figures revealed by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders last week, registrations of electric vehicles were just 3.8 per cent higher last month than a year earlier, while sales of petrol engines rose by 9 .2 percent.
But even with demand for gasoline cars growing, EU officials are deciding whether to implement a similar ban on gasoline and diesel cars to make way for the use of synthetic fuels that can power a combustion engine.
Manufacturers such as Volkswagen and Mercedes are feeling the pressure regarding their electric vehicle sales as automakers across Europe face increased competition.
Electric vehicles made in China – including brands like BYD – offer battery-powered cars that are significantly cheaper than Western rivals.
A Bloomberg investigation revealed that experts at Germany’s Kiel Institute estimated BYD has received more than £2.9 billion in subsidies in recent years.
“Chinese automakers have become predators in their own domestic market,” said Matthias Schmidt, an independent auto industry analyst.
“To retain their market share, Western automakers also have to reduce prices.”
Almost all models manufactured by BYD have had their sales price reduced, accompanied by the slogan “electricity is cheaper than oil”, as the price war continues in China, which is the largest electric vehicle market in the world. world.
Aston Martin delayed the launch of the battery-powered vehicle from 2025 to 2026. It still plans to deliver its first plug-in hybrid supercar, the Valhalla (pictured), later this year.
Chinese-made electric vehicles, including brands like BYD, offer battery-powered cars that are significantly cheaper than Western rivals.
Several major automakers, including electric vehicle market leader Tesla, have withdrawn their investments.
It comes after Tesla’s sales fell more than seven percent earlier in the month, after it reported its first year-over-year sales drop since 2020.
The world’s most valuable automaker delivered 386,810 vehicles in the first three months of the year, 20 percent less than the previous quarter and almost nine percent less than the same period in 2023.
In February, Apple also canceled work on its electric car project called Titan.
Apple’s electric car had been planned since at least 2014, and rumors about what it would entail evolved during that period.
Although his initial plans were to create a fully autonomous vehicle, he eventually scaled back his plans.
Executives were also reportedly concerned that with the $100,000 price target, profit margins would be precariously thin.
But not all manufacturers are struggling.
BMW announced yesterday that its sales of electric vehicles increased by a staggering 28 percent in the first three months of the year.