Volkswagen's electric vehicle sales in Europe fell by nearly a quarter in the first three months of the year as consumers returned to gasoline.
In its latest financial report released on April 10, the company said that sales of pure electric vehicles in Europe fell 24% from the same period last year, while sales in China grew 91% from the same period last year.
Overall, the company said its vehicle deliveries rose 3% to 2.1 million, driven primarily by China, South America and North America.
Internal combustion engine vehicles increased by 4% to 1.97 million units, more than compensating for a slight 3% decline in fully electric vehicles (BEVs) to 136,400 units. In this segment, strong growth in China (+91%) failed to fully offset a decline in Europe (-24%).
Why are Europeans turning back to gasoline?
In February, the European Parliament voted to approve a new law that will ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars from 2035.
The new rules are part of the EU's efforts to combat climate change and will accelerate the bloc's transition to electric vehicles.
Despite this, as the World Economic Forum highlighted in a recent report, European electric vehicle sales are expected to decline in the first quarter of 2024 as the industry continues to face challenges such as high costs and a lack of charging infrastructure.
“A recent EY report notes that regulation, subsidies, and incentives have had a positive impact on driving adoption…but even with subsidies, cost remains one of the biggest barriers to mass-market adoption. On average, electric vehicles cost more than a quarter more than internal combustion engine models, but their cost of ownership decreases over time, a fact not widely recognized by car buyers,” EY noted.
The World Economic Forum also noted how lagging charging infrastructure continues to impact the market.
EY predicts that adoption of this charging technology will stagnate if there is not an adequate network of public fast chargers to cater to those who cannot charge at home or need to charge on long journeys. This will require the removal of red tape, faster approvals from local authorities and available grid connections from utilities.
Source: euronews.green (2024.04.11) Volkswagen electric car sales plunge: Why are Europeans returning to petrol?
