2023-07-17 18:13:03
The incendiary speech of the director of the Volkswagen brand, Thomas Schäfer, has been circulating in recent days on social networks. Its content: Schäfer is worried about the activity related to electric cars, because once the backlog accumulated in recent months is filled, sales will drop drastically due to the drop in new orders.
In some factories, shifts are already being cut and Wolfsburg’s first electric car, the ID.3, is encountering particular difficulties. It all started in China. Initially, it looked like sales there would be extremely low. A countermeasure was taken by drastically reducing the price, to almost half of the initial price, that is to say around 16,000 euros. Meanwhile, Chinese automakers have also responded by cutting prices.
German market shows signs of weakness
But the German market also looks set to weaken in the future. The reason ? Until now, the rental market and company fleet registrations have been the main drivers of electromobility. They gladly benefited from the environmental bonuses granted by the government. But these expire in September in Germany, which is why registrations are currently booming.
Market researcher Dataforce expects sales to fall then, especially as a survey in June 2023 showed that the contribution of retail buyers was below average for the excellent results. monthly.
The virtually non-existent private market
This is also in line with the findings of Mobility Sweden – where it has been noticed since the beginning of 2023 that the private market has more or less collapsed.
For what ? Early adopters moved on. For them, and especially for owners of houses with photovoltaic systems and a charging station in the garage, the partial transition to electric mobility was worth it. Partial, because a large part of the first buyers bought an electric car as a second car for the “urban jungle”.
The price/performance ratio is currently more threatened than ever – especially when the government’s environmental bonuses expire and the subsidies are exhausted. The limited range of the most expensive electric vehicles is hardly convincing, especially for the average consumer. Most do not have access to a charging station in their residence and therefore would have to use expensive public charging stations. Expensive because the German energy policy has led to the highest electricity prices in Europe. A lot of people don’t want to join. Moreover, the option of using Chinese or foreign brands, except for Tesla, is still largely ignored.
The Germans are simply true to their brand. But the Chinese newcomers have not yet reacted to the changing general economic situation. They dared to enter the market (NIO, MG and Zeekr) with high prices, convinced that the rich Germans would follow them without hesitation.
Nothing could be further from reality. In the meantime, the economic situation has deteriorated so much that the desire to buy expensive goods suffers more and more. Political and economic leaders have created greater uncertainty with their erratic and unprofessional economic policy. And in times of uncertainty, buyers become cautious.
Is this the end of the electric mobility boom?
For now, Everything seems to believe it so. The second half of the year will certainly bring certainty, as new orders remain well below manufacturers’ forecasts and the first electric cars are put on hold.
Question of supply and demand
What will happen then? Since we live in a market economy, supply and demand will regulate prices. In other words, theprices will drop considerably. This is bad for German automakers who already have a low margin on electric cars. It’s good for the Chinese who could now take control of the market.
However, one actor may not be impressed: Tesla. The American manufacturer is currently on an almost unstoppable streak, as the price-performance ratio will continue to bring the competition to its knees. And right now, the Model 2, which would have been fully developed, is circulating on social networks…
(SR)
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