Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

After years of accelerated growth, demand for electric cars in Europe will slow as consumers wait for more reasonably priced electric models, which may take another two to three years to come out, Nov. 14 reported.

Despite a 47 per cent increase in pure electric vehicle sales in Europe in the first nine months of 2023, carmakers such as Tesla, Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz did not celebrate but spoke pessimistically.

They warn that high interest rates and a sluggish market have deterred consumers, with Volkswagen ordering only half as many electric cars as it did last year.

Research by dealers in Germany and Italy of Tuyuan Pexels and four global data analysis companies shows that the slowdown in the electric vehicle market is not only due to economic uncertainty. Consumers are also skeptical about whether electric vehicles meet safety, mileage and price requirements.

"the main problem is uncertainty," says Thomas Niedermayer, head of a 45-year-old Bavarian family car dealer. He added: "many people think the technology will improve and they would rather wait three years to buy the next model than buy a car that will soon depreciate."

Take Flavia Garcia and Tom Carvell in Edinburgh, Scotland. Their 15-year-old Toyota Auris is about to be replaced, and although they could have considered buying an electric car given the fuel ban, they hesitated because of a lack of charging facilities, concerns about battery life and price.

The average price of a new electric car in the UK is still 33 per cent more expensive than a fuel car, according to market research firm AutoTrader.

In addition, most new models for ordinary consumers will not be available until 2025 at the earliest, when they will compete with Chinese brands such as BYD and Xilai in the European market.

"you want to do the right thing for the environment, but it feels like a very expensive investment for yourself, which will make your life more complicated," said Garcia, 29, director of corporate media. " "We might buy a hybrid first," she said. "

Critics have long warned that the lack of electric cars at reasonable prices will eventually hinder the rapid growth of electric vehicle sales.

The weak performance of the European market in September, a survey of consumer confidence and pessimistic comments from carmakers and dealers suggest that a period of low growth for electric vehicles may have come.

While US carmakers are lagging behind in their transition to electric vehicles, they are also feeling the pressure. Ford and General Motors recently warned that they would delay the release of cheaper electric cars and cut spending because of weak demand and rising manufacturing costs after the UAW signed the new deal.

However, the problem is cyclical. Referring to the slowdown in European electric vehicle sales in September, Felipe Munoz, an analyst at JATO Dynamics, the statistics agency, said demand would remain weak as long as there were no cheaper electric vehicles to choose from.

"from a regulatory perspective, they don't need to launch new products now. They can focus on improving profitability," said Alistair Bedwell, head of motor vehicle industry analysis at GlobalData, the data company. "but they need to pay attention to Tesla and Chinese brands because they don't want to lag too far behind."

A poll by consumer research firm The Langston Co shows that Germans' willingness to buy electric cars has remained unchanged over the past year, meaning that although the number of electric cars sold has increased, the number of people who want to buy electric cars has not increased.

Ben DuCharme, analysis manager at the research firm, said the increase in sales may only be a sign that carmakers are finally able to meet the backlog of orders because of supply chain bottlenecks, rather than signs of demand growth.

Philip Nothard, director of analysis at Cox Automotive, a dealer services company, says low salvage values also deter buyers because companies and many consumers consider the value of used cars over the next few years when choosing new cars.

He added: "We call it the Valley of death, which means that 2024 to 2027 will experience a period of low salvage value, high supply and low demand."

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