Electric cars have plunged the European car industry into clinical death. European manufacturers want to launch dozens of cheap electric models next year to survive the perfect storm coming from China, Ziarul Financiar announces.
European carmakers are planning dozens of affordable electric models next year, bracing for an “electric vehicle winter” driven by tough new EU carbon targets and fierce competition from China.
Ahead of the Paris Motor Show, major European manufacturers, which have also been pressured by falling demand, are focusing on regaining lost market share with new vehicles.
The only major European carmaker not to issue a profit warning
“We are here to fight,” Renault CEO Luca de Meo said earlier this month as he unveiled a battery recycling project and plans to support the company’s EV business. “We have challenges everywhere. It’s not a walk in the park, but we see a lot of potential.”
Renault is the only major European carmaker not to have issued a profit warning recently. Volkswagen, Stellantis, BMW and Mercedes-Benz all cut their profit forecasts due to problems on several fronts, from intense competition to weak demand in Europe and rising inventories in the US.
Pressure on industry will increase again next year when new EU emissions targets come into force. They require car manufacturers to reduce carbon emissions from their fleets – by increasing the proportion of electric and hybrid vehicles – or face heavy fines.
Executives say meeting emissions targets has been hampered by a recent slowdown in electric vehicle sales growth: consumers have become more cost-conscious and subsidies have been cut in big markets such as Germany.
Source: www.descopera.ro
