Strong customer reluctance

Volkswagen recently announced that they were cutting electric car production at one of its biggest German factories, Emden, after “strong customer reluctance” led to far lower sales than expected. They said that sales were 30% below the company’s forecasts. Manfred Wullf, head of the Emden factory said: “We are experiencing strong customer reluctance in the electric vehicle sector.”

Autoeuropa, south of Lisbon, is a Volkswagen plant. “Our plan for the future includes a new vehicle, which will be launched at the end of 2025”, said the general director of Autoeuropa Thomas Hegel Gunther. It seems that the new vehicle will be a hybrid, not totally electric. Why hybrid and not all electric. The answer may be what is called ‘range anxiety’, where and when can I charge my car. With a hybrid there is no range anxiety, the car charges itself from a smaller petrol or diesel engine, and also from braking etc. There is a lot more information about the pros and cons of hybrid here, (conserve-energy-future.com)

The problem is that the European Parliament has formally approved a law to effectively ban the sale of any new car with a combustion engine - including petrol, diesel and hybrid models - in the European Union from 2035 (UK 2030). So, a hybrid might seem like the answer, but the EU will stop the sale and production of these from 2035. Will you still be able to get them maintained and serviced? What will their resale value be?

No easy answers

If the EU gets its way, and it usually does, you will have to go to an electric only vehicle, and most people clearly don’t want to. There is expensive publicity claiming that consumers are increasingly buying electric vehicles, yet it seems the car manufacturing industry is not so optimistic. PR is an art, and the PR men are working hard to convince you that you need an electric car, and you need it now. Do you?

Running costs

The cost of charging your car varies enormously. In Portugal a thirty minute charge can vary from Euro 1.40 up to Euros 15.76. This will give you a range, approximately, depending on model, of 100 km. The range and charge cost vary according to the car, there is an excellent calculator here, and you can specify your exact car model. https://alternative-fuels-observatory.ec.europa.eu/consumer-portal/electric-vehicle-recharging-prices

Charging at home is cheaper, depending on your supplier tariff. Rule of thumb, normal power recharging at home is the least expensive option. High-power (fast) recharging is the most expensive option.

Charging overnight at home is great if you live in a villa with a drive. If you live in an apartment, that is more of a challenge. The law says that apartment constructors need to provide a charging point for residents, I have looked around at new apartment blocks and have very rarely seen a charging facility.

Look beneath the hype

In the UK ‘Auto Trader’ recently reported that the volume of new electric car searches, ad views and messages to retailers on their platform was down nearly two thirds (65%) from the beginning of last year to March this year (2023).

Another factor may be that new EVs are 37% more expensive than petrol and diesel cars and there are fewer new electric models in the lower price range.

Tesla, an acknowledge brand leader for EV vehicles, is reported to be considering major price cuts. Tesla boss Elon Musk is reported to be prioritising price reductions over profits. Reuters reported last April: Tesla cars dropped in price this Friday in Europe, Israel and Singapore, with the brand continuing its 'campaign' to lower prices that has lasted since at least the beginning of the year. The price drop also reached Portugal, according to the company's statement, with the model 3 now starting at 39,900 euros.

Availably of batteries may also be a problem

Elon Musk is reportedly considering investing 5 Billion Euros in a battery plant for Portugal. Spain was intended for this investment, but they fell out with Musk over a confidentiality ‘issue’.

According to The Sunday Times, “Stellantis, the French company behind Vauxhall, has warned it may have to close UK factories due to a lack of electric vehicle (EV) battery factories in the UK. The huge conglomerate, which also owns Peugeot, Fiat, Jeep, Alfa Romeo, DS Automobiles and Citroën, had promised to continue making vehicles in the UK, but it has advised that the lack of UK-based suppliers, combined with upcoming post-Brexit rules on import and export tax, may cause a rethink”.

The UK continues to suffer from the consequences of Brexit, the last thing the UK motor industry needs is the cost of importing batteries for EV cars. A mega battery manufacturing plant ‘Britishvolt’ was being planned in in Blyth, Northumberland, but they went into administration in January. The Australian company ‘Recharge Production’ has now acquired the site for an undisclosed sum. That generally means very low or even free. If there is such a high demand for EV batteries, why did the original project go bust? Something simply doesn’t add up. Many car manufactories are reducing EV car production, due, they say, in part due to a lack of batteries. If that was the only ‘issue’, why do battery production plans fail? Demand normally drives supply.

EV cars haven’t stalled, but they are far from getting off to a flying start.

Author

Resident in Portugal for 50 years, publishing and writing about Portugal since 1977. Privileged to have seen, firsthand, Portugal progress from a dictatorship (1974) into a stable democracy. 

Paul Luckman