Pushed into a corner - What's causing issues for electric cars in Germany?
Mercedes, the German car manufacturer, unveiled their "Electric only" strategy in summer 2021, aiming to sell only electric vehicles by 2030. However, this plan was later revised in February when Mercedes CEO Ola Källenius (54) decided that only 50% of deliveries in 2030 would be electric or hybrid powered.
The company has ceased the development of the large electric platform "MB.EA-Large" for the electric S-Class, E-Class, GLS, and GLE models. Reports suggest that the production costs are too high and Mercedes prefers flexible production setups for both combustion and electric drives. The target of a fully electric lineup from 2028 has been dismissed.
The trend of electric cars in the car-heavy nation of Germany continues to drag on. The German government hopes to have 15 million electric cars by 2030; however, with only 1.4 million electric cars in January this year, the goal seems unreachable.
To meet the target, over 160,000 new electric registrations are required each month. Only 29,700 new electric cars were registered in April. This decline is partly due to the expiration of subsidies for commercial electric cars in September 2023 and private ones in December.
Economics Minister Robert Habeck (54, Greens) expects "tipping points" where electric car demand will skyrocket. However, the population still seems to be far from reaching these points.
More people are reconsidering electric cars, as the cost of e-cars is too high for 77% of respondents in the Acatech Mobility Monitor study. Range (60%), environmental friendliness (59%), and charging infrastructure (57%) were the top reasons given by respondents for not buying an electric car.
Affordable electric cars from Chinese manufacturers like BYD and Nio remain hard to find in Germany. In April, only 53 new Nios were registered, while 183 new BYDs were registered. In comparison, 197 new Ferraris were registered, all with combustion engines.
Despite Mercedes' ambitious plan to become a leader in electric cars, the popularity of e-cars is dwindling in Germany. Economic constraints, doubtful environmental friendliness, and issues with charging infrastructure are dissuading consumers. Thus, Mercedes' goal of a fully electric lineup might still be far from becoming a reality.
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Source: symclub.org
