Sales are stagnant, manufacturers are taking a step back: Is the electric car enthusiasm over in Europe?

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It’s true: Demand for electric cars in most European countries is not as great as manufacturers had hoped. Sales figures have fallen in recent months, especially in Germany, a car nation. There’s a simple reason for this: The acquisition bonus previously awarded to Stromer has no longer been available since the beginning of the year. While around 55,000 new electric cars were launched in December 2023, in February 2024 the number was only around 27,500.

Industry and industry experts have long thought that the German government’s goal of putting 15 million electric cars on the roads by 2030 is unrealistic. According to Stefan Bratzel, head of the renowned Automotive Management Center (CAM) in Bergisch Gladbach (D), the target is “much missed”. Realistically, there will be 7 to 8 million electric vehicles by 2030; This figure is half of what was planned.

More electric cars across the EU

While electric car sales fell in Germany, there was a whopping 30 percent increase across the EU in January; In February, the increase was still nine percent. This means that electric cars now account for twelve percent of the total number of cars in the EU. Electric car sales in Switzerland are also rebounding after a slow start to 2024: in February, the market share of fully electric vehicles was almost 17 percent; Rechargeable plug-in hybrids account for another ten percent.

Opel comes back rowing

Still, the outlook for the electric car market looks cloudy. And the first manufacturers are reacting uneasily: Just a year ago, Opel boss Florian Huettl (47) announced that the German carmaker in the Stellantis Group wants to offer “exclusively electric vehicles” in Europe from 2028. But there are doubts about this, as analyzed by German business newspaper Automobilwoche: If Opel wants to stick to its target, the Rüsselsheim-based company will have to withdraw mild or plug-in hybrid drive even from new models launched this year. 2028. This would be a questionable decision, and not just financially.

It has been announced that the new version of the Opel family SUV Grandland will not be launched as a fully electric vehicle this year, as originally announced, but will continue to be offered with a hybrid drive system, similar to its sister model Peugeot 3008. Opel’s subsequent innovations (the new Frontera arriving at the end of 2024 and the revised compact SUV Mokka in 2025) will also continue to be offered in the showroom as mild hybrids.

Maserati leads the way in electrics

Of all the companies, Maserati shows that electric car enthusiasm is not lost everywhere. The Italian sports car manufacturer, known for its powerful V6 and V8 internal combustion engines, has announced that it will offer exclusively electric cars from 2028, two years earlier than originally planned. This is even more surprising because Maserati still does not have a single Folgore on the road – this suffix (which means lightning in Italian) is an appendix found on all pure electric cars. Announced last year, the Gran Turismo Folgore (click here for a drive report) will finally hit dealerships in the coming weeks, with a convertible arriving in the summer.

However, the all-electric version of Maserati’s best-selling Grecale compact SUV is likely to be much more important in terms of sales figures. It also needs to start before the summer months. Maserati is also discontinuing its two sedans, the Ghibli and Quattroporte, as well as the luxury SUV Levante, this year. However, it will take some time to provide electrical replacement for flagships. Levante’s successor will hit the streets in 2027 at the earliest with the addition of Folgore. The new generation of the Quattroporte luxury sedan will not go on sale until 2028. Meanwhile, Maserati is expanding its electric vehicle range with two super sports cars, the MC20 and MC20 Cielo, which are scheduled to leave production halls in 2028. Modena (I) next year.

Affordable electric cars are coming

The increasingly cheaper and increasing number of affordable electric vehicles will ensure that e-mobility becomes popular not only among top earners, but also among average car drivers. At Citroën, the small electric car ë-C3 is in the starting blocks, aiming to mobilize the masses, this time electrically, like the legendary Döschwo. A starting price of under 25,000 francs with a range of more than 300 kilometers will make this possible. An even cheaper entry-level version is expected to arrive in 2025.

Renault R5, which was recently introduced at the Mini Auto Show in Geneva, will hit the market this year. Like its legendary ancestor, it should be a car for the masses. Depending on the battery, the cool retro electric car is expected to have a range of 300 to 400 kilometers and be available at prices starting well below 30,000 francs. The trio of European budget electric vehicles will be completed from the end of 2025 with the Polo-sized electric VW ID.2, which will start with a range of 450 kilometers at a cost of less than 25,000 francs.

Unnecessary ban on internal combustion engines

The result: Electric car enthusiasm in the industry seems to have evaporated somewhat. But Europe will definitely not move away from electric drives. Manufacturers have already invested billions of dollars in this, and price parity (the point where similar combustion engines and electric vehicles cost the same) is getting closer, even in the small car segment.

Scientists from the Jülich Research Center (NL) recently concluded that: Ultimately, a ban on internal combustion engines from 2035 is not necessary, as the EU Parliament decided two years ago: the electric car will become widespread for economic reasons. “Our analysis shows that in the next few years electromobility will become a cheaper alternative in the vast majority of cases, and this trend will continue to grow in the long term,” said Detlef Stolten (66), director of the Jülich Techno Institute. -Economic System Analysis, Focus news magazine.

Source: Blick