In July, the European car market showed a relative stagnation, with new car registrations rising only 0.
4% from the same period last year to a total of 1.
03 million.
In particular, the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers noted a significant decline in demand for electric vehicles (EV), especially in Germany, Europe’s largest car market.
Sales of electric vehicles in Germany have continued to decline over the past few months, with sales falling sharply by 37% in July.
Part of the reason for the significant decline can be attributed to the abrupt cancellation of electric vehicle subsidies in mid-December and the continuing economic challenges facing Germany.
Together, these factors curbed consumers’ willingness to spend, causing more buyers to turn to lower-priced hybrids, which led to a 24 per cent jump in hybrid sales during the month.
Despite increases in electric vehicle sales in countries such as France and the UK, these increases are not enough to offset a sharp decline of 37 per cent in the German market.
The decline in electric car sales in Europe for several months is partly due to government cuts in fiscal incentives to buy electric cars.
Coupled with the pressure on consumer spending caused by the continued decline in the German economy, this market phenomenon has been caused together.
Europe has its roots in Germany, and a new report points out that due to the lack of effective incentives, consumers have shown a lack of interest in non-first electric vehicle products, which indicates that the growth of electric vehicle (BEV) registration is likely to continue to slow.
This trend reflects changes in market dynamics and the challenges consumers face in embracing new technology products.
Judging from the overall market performance, the share of electric vehicles in total European car sales fell to 13.
6% last month, down from 14.
5% in the same period last year.
At the same time, sales of gas vehicles fell by 8.
4%, while sales of diesel vehicles fell by 11%, indicating that the traditional fuel vehicle market is also experiencing the pressure of transformation.
Even leaders in the field of electric vehicles, such as Tesla, face challenges, with sales falling 15% in July and 12% in the first seven months of this year, further highlighting the slowing growth of the electric vehicle market.
Analysts generally agree that the high cost of electric vehicles is a major obstacle to their widespread use.
This cost problem not only affects consumers’ purchase decisions, but also makes automakers have to adjust the coexistence strategy of internal combustion engines and electric vehicles.
Carmakers began to re-evaluate and gradually adjust their plans to phase out internal combustion engines to cope with market uncertainty.
Volkswagen Group, which is typical of this trend, is seeking deeper cost cuts, rather than just closing its Audi electric car plant near Brussels.
Similarly, Stellantis, the region’s second-largest manufacturer, almost halved its net income in the first half, prompting executives to warn against underperforming brands and consider further strategic changes.
Mercedes-Benz also felt the pressure from the market, lowering its profit margin forecast for this year and abandoning its previous medium-term target for electric vehicle sales.
The company said the transition from fuel to electric vehicles would take longer than expected, reflecting the challenges facing the industry as a whole.
While electric vehicle sales are in trouble, hybrid vehicles have shown strong growth momentum.
Hybrid car registrations rose 24% in July, compared with a cumulative increase of 22% in the first seven months of this year.
It should be noted, however, that there are a wide range of hybrid vehicles, including those that only use batteries to improve performance or run electrical systems.
Plug-in hybrid vehicles, in particular, although they can run for a limited distance like real electric cars before switching to internal combustion engines, their market share has declined compared with the same period last year, indicating that consumer preferences in this market segment are also changing.
It can be said that the European automobile market is undergoing a profound transition period, with different market performances of electric vehicles, gas vehicles and diesel vehicles, reflecting the comprehensive influence of multiple factors such as consumer preference, technological progress and policy environment.
In this context, automakers need to adjust their strategies more flexibly to cope with the changing and challenges of the market.
Volkswagen is at the heart of Germany, and German car giant Volkswagen announced on the 2nd that it is considering closing a factory in Germany.
There are many factors behind this decision.
Since the “diesel door” exhaust fraud incident, Volkswagen has decisively shifted the focus of management resources to the field of electrification.
However, misjudgment still exists.
Instead of booming as expected, sales in the global electric vehicle (EV) market are in the doldrums.
At the same time, Chinese competitors are rising rapidly, bringing new challenges to Volkswagen.
In the face of the large amount of investment in electrification and the sudden change in market demand, Volkswagen is eager to adjust its strategy to better cope with this trend of transition to electric vehicles.
Volkswagen is considering closing “at least one large car factory and one parts factory in Germany” to save billions of euros.
The proposal highlights the difficulties faced by traditional European carmakers in moving from lucrative but heavily polluting gasoline and diesel vehicles to cleaner but currently less profitable electric vehicles.
Not only in Europe, but also in the United States and around the world, automakers are feeling the tremendous pressure from Chinese electric carmakers.
These Chinese manufacturers are in a favorable position in the market with lower costs and higher profit margins.
Last month, Ford cancelled plans to produce a new electric SUV and delayed the launch of an electric pickup truck because of fierce competition in the Chinese market.
Similarly, GM, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen’s Bentley brand have all delayed their electrification plans.
Tesla, a pioneer in the electric car market, is also trying to recover from the decline in sales.
In response to competition from Chinese imports, the European Union has announced additional tariffs on Chinese imports at a rate of between 17.
4% and 37.6%. However, although a 10 per cent import tax has been imposed, many Chinese manufacturers are still able to sell cars in the European market at a profit because of their obvious cost advantage.
Oliver Bloom, CEO of Volkswagen Group, said: “the European auto industry is facing a very serious situation.
” The economic environment has become more stringentJun, new competitors are entering the European market.
In addition, Germany’s competitiveness as a manufacturing center is gradually declining.
In this environment, we as a company must act decisively.
“, In July this year, the Volkswagen Group proposed for the first time to close an Audi factory in Belgium, the first time in 40 years that the group has proposed a plan to close a factory globally.
Now, closing a factory in Germany will represent a major strategic shift for the company and could cause great controversy.
For nearly two years, the German economy has been on the verge of technical recession, while the automotive industry, which is seeking funds to produce new electric vehicles, is facing unprecedented pressure.
This decision by Volkswagen will undoubtedly have a profound impact on its future development, and will also test the response ability of the German government and the entire automotive industry.
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