It used to seem like electric cars were the future of the auto industry, but lately you can see that interest in them has started to wane. There are several reasons for this.
One of them is their high cost. Even with increased production and lower battery prices, they are still more expensive than regular internal combustion engine cars. This makes them less accessible to a wide range of consumers.
Insufficient charging infrastructure for electric cars also has an impact. Many countries still lack charging stations, which creates inconveniences for car owners. Not everyone can afford to install a charging station at home, and public stations are not always conveniently located.
The American portal iSeeCars conducted a study, which found out that electric cars fall in price more than others after five years, they estimate the loss at 49.1%. Therefore, many car owners give preference to gasoline or hybrid cars with the purpose of profitable resale in the future. In general, there is a rapid technological obsolescence of electric-powered models. Customers more often choose cars with internal combustion engines, because they have higher fuel efficiency and they do not have to worry about driving range.
A noticeable drop in demand for electric cars can be seen in the example of Volkswagen. In the first 6 months of last year, they produced 97 thousand electric cars, of which they sold only 73 thousand. The company has incurred losses and now aims to reduce the production of electric models. A total of 220 thousand electric cars were registered in Germany in 2023 from January to June, this is 80 thousand less than in the same period a year ago. The government used to provide subsidies to electric car owners, but then started to cut them and sales began to decline rapidly.
The world’s other largest U.S. car rental company, Hertz, said it intends to remove 20,000 electric cars because of high maintenance costs. Previously, they aimed to have ¼ of electric cars in their fleet by 2024. Overall, electric car sales are in decline in the US, they were at 15% in the 2nd quarter and dropped to 1.3% in the 4th quarter.
According to EV-volumes, the percentage of electric vehicles in the world in the next 10 years will be lower than previously expected. They predict that by the end of 2030, electric vehicles will make up only 15% of the global fleet, assuming normal utilization rates.
Despite the existing problems, experts believe that the decline in interest in electric cars is temporary. With the development of technology and increased production, prices will decrease, making them more affordable for consumers. Stricter environmental regulations and support from the government will also be able to influence the growing popularity of electric cars.
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